Men charged with a Lexington murder are two of five suspects involved, detective says
Two men connected to a July murder are alleged to have stormed into a residence in hoodies and masks with three other unidentified suspects before fatally shooting and killing a man, a Lexington police detective testified Thursday.
Justin Brown, 26, and Courtney Wrenn, 33 are charged with the murder of 31-year-old Stacey Marshall, who was killed in a shooting on Michigan Avenue.
Brown appeared in court Thursday for a preliminary hearing, where District Judge John Tackett heard evidence and found probable cause to send both Brown’s and Wrenn’s case to a grand jury. Wrenn was not present in the courtroom and waived his right to appear.
Lexington police Detective Hunter Wilks testified Thursday that Wrenn knocked on the door of the residence where the shooting happened and spoke with someone in the doorway before he barged in and began firing inside, according to testimony from Wilks.
Two other unidentified people fired weapons and pushed into the residence with Wrenn, Wilks said in court. The shooting was caught on home surveillance from multiple angles. The video was referenced during the hearing Thursday.
The victim was able to flee the residence but later died nearby on Whitney Avenue, Wilks testified.
Wilks didn’t make any comments during his testimony Thursday about efforts to find the other suspects. He said he could not speak to the motive the five men had to be in the home.
Detective: One suspect wasn’t armed
Wilks confirmed during testimony Thursday that Brown didn’t have a weapon and did not shoot during the incident.
Brown’s attorney, Ben Church, said all three charges of burglary, murder and wanton endangerment should be dismissed since there was no direct evidence that Brown’s actions caused Marshall’s death.
“There is no evidence that (Brown) took part in any kind of behavior that facilitated or encouraged actions that led to this individual’s death,” Church said during the hearing. “This court can very reasonably infer that the act that led to this death occurred after the victim left the home and after my client had fled.”
Concerning the burglary charge, Church said there was no evidence presented that Brown took anything from the home. But Brown was charged with burglary because of the forced entry into the home, according to testimony.
Church said the judge was the “sword and shield” of the community, which included both the victims and the defendant. He said the facts of the case didn’t indicate probable cause for Brown’s charges.
“Mr. Brown being there is not enough to charge him with murder,” Church said.
Prosecutors argued it was clear that Brown was complicit in these acts because he arrived, entered and left with the shooters.
“If he was aiding, counseling or attempting to aid, you can clearly conclude based on evidence, he is complicit with them and a principal in the act,” said Lee Greenup from the Fayette County Attorney’s Office.
Wrenn’s attorney, Marcel Bush Radomile, did not argue probable cause against her client.
Tackett sided with prosecutors and said there was enough evidence that Brown “acted in concert” with the other four suspects.
“Nothing I say here is denying your presumption of innocence,” Tackett said. “But Mr. Church’s arguments are better suited for a jury.”
Brown’s bond was ordered to remain the same at $750,000, which Church called “oppressive.”
Wrenn was arrested the day after the murder took place and charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree wanton endangerment and possessing of a handgun by a convicted felon. He faces a separate aggravated fentanyl trafficking charge.
Brown was arrested a month after the shooting occurred and was identified through an anonymous tip, police said. Brown is charged with murder, first-degree burglary and first-degree wanton endangerment.
Wrenn has also been connected in court in another fatal shooting: police had previously been informed that Wrenn was a suspect in the death of 43-year-old Timonte Harris, according to testimony made in a prior hearing. But Corry Jackson, 37, was ultimately charged and indicted in that case. Wrenn was later arrested and charged with Marshall’s murder.
Radomile, Wrenn’s attorney, said she didn’t have knowledge of him being implicated in the other case.
This story was originally published August 31, 2023 at 11:14 AM.
