GUILTY AR - Christopher Guilbeau, 24, Texarkana, 23 Feb 2015

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Bowie County jury gives Texarkana man 60 years for murder

http://txktoday.com/news/bowie-county-jury-gives-texarkana-man-60-years-for-murder/

A Bowie County jury leveled a 60-year prison term Thursday in the trial of a 22-year-old Texarkana man who robbed his victim.

Marquell Smith will not be eligible for parole until he has served one half, or 30 years, of his sentence. The jury also assessed a $10,000 fine.

Condit argued to the jury that the young defendant should be given a “just and fair” punishment that would allow him to someday be a productive member of society.

Carter and First Assistant District Attorney Michael Shepherd reminded the jury of Smith’s prior criminal history. As a juvenile, Smith was sentenced to three years in the Texas Youth Commission for assault on a public servant in April 2012. While there, he assaulted a correctional officer and was transferred to an adult prison.

“Defense counsel wants to appeal to your sympathy. Reality is ugly,” Shepherd argued. “We can’t save all the young people no matter how hard we try.”

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Man gets 50 years for shooting murder

http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texarkana/story/2017/mar/02/man-gets-50-years-shooting-murder/663825/

A Bowie County judge handed down a 50-year sentence for murder Wednesday to a man whose co-defendant was sentenced last month to a 60-year term.

Brandon Eric Brown, 24, elected to have his case decided by 202nd District Judge John Tidwell rather than a jury as decided the fate of one of Brown's co-defendant's, Marquell Smith, 22. Smith was found guilty and sentenced to 60 years in February by a Bowie County jury of murder in the February 2015 shooting death of 24-year-old Christopher Guilbeau.

Tidwell heard testimony similar to that presented in Smith's case Tuesday and found Brown, who gave Smith the gun he used to kill Guilbeau, guilty of first-degree murder. Wednesday the judge listened to testimony and arguments concerning the punishment Brown should receive before handing down a sentence of 50 years.

Guilbeau was shot multiple times Feb. 23, 2015, as he sat behind the wheel of his pickup in alley behind a duplex on Della Street where Shamari Newton, 25, was living. Newton, Smith's former girlfriend, is the only defendant in the case agaisnt whom a murder charge remains pending.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

From September:

Man convicted in murder decides he wants lawyer after all

http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texarkana/story/2017/sep/20/man-convicted-murder-decides-he-wants-lawyer-after-all/691951/

A man sentenced earlier this year to 50 years for murder told a judge Tuesday he has changed his mind about representing himself in the appellate process.

Brandon Eric Brown, 24, is one of two men found guilty of murder in the 2015 shooting of Christopher Guilbeau in Texarkana, Texas. Brown was back in court before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell for a hearing ordered by the 6th Court of Appeals, headquartered in Texarkana, to address a request Brown made to the higher court for self representation.

It appears that since she testified against the other two defendants, Shamari Newton's charges were reduced.

Newton was arrested months later in Tacoma, Wash. She received a six-month jail sentence for failing to report a felony.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

January 2018:

Court: No new trial in murder

On appeal, Brown argued that Tidwell should have a granted a motion to suppress statements he made to police. Brown mentioned a lawyer during his videotaped interview with detectives but never directly requested one. The 6th District Court of Appeals headquartered in Texarkana ruled that Tidwell's decision to deny Brown's motion to suppress was not an error. The higher court noted that Brown brought up the subject of a lawyer but never asked for one "unambiguously."

On appeal, Brown argued that there was not enough evidence to support a murder conviction in his case. The higher court ruled that although Brown didn't pull the trigger, he is just as guilty as Smith for participating in the crime because of the state's "law of parties."