Jury foreman says Tillman acquittal was well thought out

By Matt Pordum

Monday, April 25, 2005 | 9:39 a.m.

The foreman of a jury that on Friday found a 22-year-old alleged gang member not guilty of fatally shooting a security guard said the verdict was well thought out.

Markette Tillman had been charged with murder and attempted murder in the January 2004 shooting of 29-year-old Brian Wilcox of Henderson at the Sherman Annex Apartments on the 1700 block of H Street.

The jurors' three days of deliberations included having testimony read back by the court reporter Thursday morning and an unsuccessful request to visit the crime scene.

"Obviously we all recognized there was a crime committed in this case that unfortunately led to a life being lost," Tres Robinson, the jury foreman, said. "The key issue, given the instructions delivered, to us was there was not enough evidence to convict."

Despite his acquittal, however, Tillman remains in the Clark County Detention Center because he faces two charges of attempted murder for his alleged involvement in a drive-by shooting that took place six days before Wilcox was killed.

Tillman is scheduled to go before District Judge Joseph Bonaventure on Thursday for the setting of a trial date.

During the three-week trial that ended with Friday's acquittal, the jury heard about the drive-by shooting and the fact the bullet casings found at the scene of Wilcox's slaying matched casings recovered at the drive-by shooting. But police never found the gun to match those casings.

After hearing the verdict Tillman smiled and hugged his attorney, Bret Whipple, and shook the hand of Chief Deputy District Attorney Bill Berrett. Berrett is also prosecuting Tillman's case before Bonaventure.

Neither Berrett nor Chief Deputy District Attorney Vicki Monroe commented on Friday's verdict other than saying, "They (the jury) did their job."

Whipple said he was "very proud to be a part of the legal system today."

"I have the utmost respect for the hard work and patience they (the jury) put into their deliberations," Whipple said.

Prosecutors said that on the night of the killing Wilcox and fellow security guard Jordan Boyd found Tillman, Booth and two other men at the complex even though they had been banned from the property for repeatedly trespassing.

Boyd testified that after Tillman and the others refused to leave, he and Wilcox decided to head back to the main security office on their bicycles to get backup.

Boyd said Wilcox got on his radio to call the main security office for backup, and as Boyd drove up to Wilcox so he could hear the radio call, two shots rang out, hitting Wilcox in the back and leg.

Boyd, however, could not identify Tillman as the shooter nor could he say whether Tillman or the three men with him had a gun.

Although several witnesses identified Tillman as being the killer due to the fact Tillman was wearing a gray sweatshirt and black jeans, during the trial it came out another person, 20-year-old Stephen Booth, was at the scene wearing the same clothes.

Prosecutors said while that may have been true police had scientific evidence pointing to Tillman as the gunman: a gray sweatshirt recovered from Tillman's home containing his identification card later came up positive for gun residue.

No such evidence was found in regards to Booth.

Booth is currently awaiting trial on charges of attempted murder and robbery before District Judge John McGroarty on April 25 for an incident that took place in roughly the same neighborhood as the Wilcox killing.

Booth is accused of shooting Horatio Scott in the back Jan. 20 at an apartment complex on Coran and 8th Street. Scott was he was running away from Booth after confronting Booth about him allegedly stealing a necklace from Scott's brother, according to the police report.