Joyce Peterson
Anchor/Reporter
Memphis, TN
Joyce Peterson is an anchor/reporter at Action News 5.
Joyce is a second-generation TV journalist and has reported the news in the Mid-South for more than 25 years.
She's also married to your favorite weather guy, Action News 5 Chief Meteorologist Ron Childers.
Weekdays you'll find Joyce anchoring our 4 p.m. newscasts. Then she switches gears and hits the street to report at 10 p.m.
A major crackdown on crime is underway in Eastern Arkansas. State Police and prosecutors are teaming up with local law enforcement to get the bad guys off the street and into the jail.
The next few days will test the upgrades and improvements made to MLGW’s infrastructure in the last 12 months. MLGW President Doug McGowen told Action News 5 that the utility is in a much better position this year to handle severe winter weather.
The top business executives in Memphis asked Tennessee Governor Bill Lee this week for $50 million to fight crime. In 2023, the city had a record 398 homicides, a record number of children killed by gunfire, and a record number of cars stolen.
When a FedEx package absolutely, positively must arrive safely at its destination in Memphis, you might see extra security tagging along on your next delivery.
The death of three-year-old Brayden Smith, the Memphis child who police said was hit by random gunfire on New Year’s Eve, brings the city’s 2023 homicide count to 398. Memphis also set the record for the highest number of children killed by gunfire in 2023, leading one state lawmaker to say the Bluff City and its leaders need to re-evaluate how crime-fighting is being handled.
The special prosecutor looking into allegations of mismanagement in the Shelby County Clerk’s Office sent a top staffer to Memphis on Wednesday.
As we close out 2023, the City of Memphis set many records this year, and none are the kind of which to brag. Record number of homicides. Highest amount of business burglaries. And the most children killed by gunfire. Local authorities say juvenile crime is driving a lot of these sad statistics.
One of the suspects charged in a deadly police pursuit in Whitehaven last week is back in jail, accused of committing more crimes. The question is: why was he let out in the first place?
If the wheels of justice don’t start turning faster in Memphis and Shelby County, there could be fewer judges dishing out that justice.
The great gate debate over the plan to block two public streets leading into Chickasaw Gardens to create a safer neighborhood created division among council members Tuesday.
Getting a grip on Memphis’ crime crisis requires getting juvenile crime under control. On Monday night, the Shelby County Commission made a multi-million-dollar commitment to improve the way juvenile court helps troubled kids.
New accusations have been leveled against the Shelby County District Attorney by the state senator, who just last week, called for an investigation into the DA and a local judge over what he called “illegal restorative justice schemes.”
During day one of three in a civil court hearing, Memphis Grizzlies basketball star Ja Morant and his father Tee Morant testified about their accounts of what happened during a confrontation between Ja and then-17-year-old Josh Holloway over a pick-up basketball game in the summer of 2022.
Action News 5 took a closer look at repeat offenders in the Shelby County Criminal Justice system.
It’s been years in the making. A Memphis construction project that drew fierce criticism from the get-go is now finished. In less than two weeks, you can tour the all-new Tom Lee Park for yourself. And as one group gets ready to debut a gorgeous new park, another group faces a serious question about its future.
After eight people were shot near Beale Street last weekend, Memphis Police met with the Downtown Memphis Commission and business owners to develop a new traffic control plan to enhance public safety.
The Memphis Police Department has unveiled its most restrictive traffic control plan for Downtown in recent memory.
One Memphis community’s attempt to crack down on crime is being called out.
A wealthy Memphis community wants to close two of five streets into their neighborhood to keep the criminals out.
In a decision Monday, the Germantown Board of Aldermen voted 4-1 to issue every Germantown resident a $27.50 water credit in the wake of the July water contamination crisis.
An Arkansas teenager who made national news last year is making headlines again. His small-town car accident set off a chain of events that ended in a horrific, big-city crash.
“Join us and get on the bus.” That battle cry from Tennessee Democrats came Wednesday after they unveiled their newest weapon in the war on gun violence.
The governor outlined the scope of that special session in a proclamation issued on Tuesday, and Democrats say it contains no teeth to toughen up gun laws.
A local attorney says something stinks in Germantown, and it’s not the water.
The husband of a woman who’s been missing for more than four years pleaded guilty to her murder on Friday, although police have yet to find her body.
Thursday night, furious Germantown residents packed the Germantown Performing Arts Center for a town hall on the city’s recent water contamination crisis.
Tennessee state lawmakers plan to zero in on mental health in the upcoming special legislative session on gun control.
A Millington man who was out on bond after being charged with killing a teenage girl in 2022 is now on the run.
An MLGW power failure triggered an emergency burn-off at the Valero oil refinery in Memphis, sending plumes of thick, potentially toxic smoke into the air.
Although the City of Germantown’s “flush only” order remains in place, there is some good news that was announced Tuesday.
Frustration is growing five days after Germantown water customers were first advised not to drink their tap water after diesel fuel contaminated an underground reservoir.
Memphis sits at the top of a not-so-illustrious list: Most Dangerous City in America for Drivers.
MLGW hosted a “Power Hour” Community Meeting in Frayser on Thursday night, a community that is riddled with more than 2,000 residents awaiting the return of their power.
Customers of the Holly Springs Utility District (HSUD) can certainly sympathize with Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) customers right now.
According to MLGW, the utility is working to assess the damage from the storms, repair infrastructure, and restore customers as quickly and safely as crews can.
A former Memphis police officer who stands accused of killing two people while driving at an accelerated speed wants probation instead of jail time. The victims’ families told Action News 5 they do not support this deal.
Friends and patients of Dr. Benjamin Mauck say they’re remembering the orthopedic surgeon at Campbell Clinic as a healthcare hero.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Davonte Pack in connection to a basketball beatdown at the home of the Grizzlies superstar last summer.
The world of women’s basketball lost one of the greats this week. Collierville native Nikki McCray-Penson passed away at the age of 51, it was announced Friday.
Revolutionary. Historic. Groundbreaking. That’s how organizers describe a new program in Memphis that teaches young men how to be better fathers. It’s called AFIRM, which stands for “A Father’s Involvement Really Matters.”
State investigators have joined a double homicide investigation in Bolivar, Tennessee, and Action News 5 has learned new information about a third death that is also now under the state’s microscope.
During a Monday press briefing, MLGW President and CEO Doug McGowen promised a better, stronger electrical grid for Memphis and its suburbs is coming.
The National Weather Service says 80 mile per hour winds tore through Shelby County, causing major damage in the northern section of the county.
State troopers are in town taking names and writing tickets to thousands of motorists in Memphis. Action News 5 is taking a closer look at the data from recent Tennessee Highway Patrol saturations in Bluff City.
An abandoned dog left for dead in a Cordova backyard now has a second chance at life, but the man who rescued him said the pup wound up saving him.
The Memphis Police Department is making a big ask of city council —requesting tens of millions of dollars to expand crime-fighting technology.
Fans of Jerry Lee Lewis have an opportunity this weekend to buy some of The Killer’s most cherished possessions.
Memphis City Council Chairman Martavius Jones is proposing raising the city’s property tax rate. He said the move would generate millions of additional dollars for MATA, the city’s public transportation service.
Parents, if caring for your children becomes overwhelming, you can reach out for help.
