A former Alabama police officer who fired more than a dozen rounds in less than two seconds and killed a Black man during a truck repossession in 2023 will have to stand trial after a judge denied him immunity.
Mac Marquette, who was fired from the Decatur Police Department, has been charged with murder in the shooting of Steve Perkins on Sept. 29, 2023. Marquette's attorneys had argued that he should be immune from prosecution under the state's "stand your ground" law.
The shooting unfolded after a tow truck driver went to Perkins' home to repossess a truck early that morning, authorities said. Perkins left his garage holding a pistol and told the driver to get off his property, according to court documents filed Monday in a Morgan County circuit court.
The driver left and contacted police, the documents say.
Marquette and two other officers, Joey Williams and Christopher Mukadam, met the tow truck driver at a lot and accompanied him to Perkins' home to ensure the repossession happened "peacefully," according to the filing.
Mukadam testified that the officers were to act as "some security" for the tow truck driver, it says.
The officers arrived first at Perkins' home and concealed themselves on his property and across the street, the filing says. Marquette and Williams stood on the side of the home, while Mukadam positioned himself between two vehicles at a residence across the street, it says.
After the tow truck driver arrived, Perkins came out of his home with a gun, according to the filing. Marquette shouted "Hey" twice, and Perkins "turned and his gun swept towards Marquette's direction," according to the court document. The filing says that, based on evidence, the only part of Marquette that would have been immediately visible to Perkins was from the chest up.
Marquette announced himself as a police officer while he was firing several rounds, the filing says. He continued to fire until "he had fired every bullet from his gun," it says.
Marquette told investigators that he drew his firearm because he considered Perkins' gun a threat to the tow truck driver. He claimed that after he shouted at Perkins, the pair "locked eyes" and he feared he was about to die.
About 1.40 seconds passed between when Marquette announced his presence and when he opened fire, the filing says.
Under the state's "stand your ground" law, immunity is granted to people who use deadly force when they are in a place they have a right to be and reasonably believe there is a danger.
Morgan County Circuit Judge Charles Elliott denied Marquette's motion, writing in the court filing that no crime was being committed when officers arrived and that they were not allowed to be involved in a repossession because they did not have a court order.
Elliott said a jury will have to decide whether Marquette was at Perkins’ home to keep the peace. A trial has been set for June 9.