January 15, 2026
A Memphis widow is speaking out after her husband was fatally shot after the couple briefly pulled into a stranger’s driveway.
A Memphis woman is grieving the loss of her husband after he was fatally shot when the couple pulled into a stranger’s driveway to avoid a traffic ticket.
Sheila Booker recounted the moments leading up to the Jan. 9 killing of her husband, Rodriguez Poplar, who was fatally shot outside a stranger’s home where the couple had briefly parked to avoid a police encounter, Fox 13 Memphis reports. Officers nearby quickly arrested the suspect.
“The police came so fast,” Booker said. “If it weren’t for them, I think I’d be dead. They saved my life.”
Booker said that when she and her husband spotted police lights on North Trezevant Street, he steered her into a driveway because their car had a broken headlight and expired tags. She says that’s when the homeowner emerged armed, demanding they leave.
“So, he pulled the gun in my face, and that’s when my husband got out, and my husband got out trying to protect me, and that’s when he shot my husband right in front of me,” Booker said.
The widow said the police arrived on the scene in under a minute, with officers reporting that they found the suspect, Tommy Applewhite, still armed. Applewhite is facing multiple charges, including second-degree murder.
His criminal history in Shelby County dates back to 2001, with the most serious prior incident in 2007 when he shot a man twice at a Frayser apartment complex following a fight. He pleaded guilty to attempted murder and served three years in prison. Court records also show multiple drug- and gun-related offenses. At the time of the 2026 shooting, Applewhite was on active probation for a 2022 gun charge, according to Tennessee Department of Corrections records.
Booker has started a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of her husband’s funeral and burial.
“I am asking for help to cover funeral and burial expenses so that I can lay my husband to rest with dignity and peace,” she wrote in the campaign description. “Any funds raised will go directly toward funeral services, burial costs, and related expenses during this incredibly difficult time.”
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