A man locked in a Texas jail cell for the past nine years for allegedly killing a police officer will soon find out his fate.
Marvin Louis Guy, 59, has been confined in Bell County Jail since May 10, 2014, after being arrested on capital murder charges for allegedly killing Killeen Police Department SWAT team member Charles "Chuck" Dinwiddie the previous day during an early morning, no-knock narcotics raid. Dinwiddie died on May 11, 2014. Guy has been held on $4 million bond.
The jury began deliberations on Monday following the conclusion of an eight-day trial previously postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Guy's health, and defense attorneys accusing the local district attorney's office of not providing all the evidence associated with the case.
Judge John Gauntt said on Monday that the threshold for capital murder is contingent upon Guy knowing that Dinwiddie and others were members of law enforcement, according to the Killeen Daily Herald. Murder and manslaughter are also being considered.
A capital murder conviction, or the jury convicting Guy of a lesser charge such as murder, would require additional testimony and arguments during sentencing. Self-defense would lead to Guy being exonerated.
Intentional or self-defense?
Testimony of roughly 40 witnesses began on November 6. The trial included hundreds of pieces of evidence, including video of Killeen Police Department detectives with Guy in the aftermath of the shooting. Guy claimed he was protecting himself and was unaware that police were at his home serving a warrant.
The SWAT team consisting of about two dozen officers arrived at Guy's apartment at about 5:45 a.m. on May 9, 2014, according to Reason's Billy Binion. They suspected him of dealing cocaine.
Police reportedly smashed his bedroom window, struck his door with a battering ram and detonated a tear-gas grenade.
Guy's reaction may have been attributed to an incident that occurred less than one week prior, he added, when someone broke into his neighbor's home in a similar fashion and nearly choked the tenant to death.
Binion noted that Guy was never charged with a drug-related crime, even though law enforcement officials were on the scene to serve a narcotics-related warrant.
Star witnesses for the prosecution included Dinwiddie's widow, Holly Dinwiddie, and SWAT team member and Iraq War veteran Nathan McCown—the latter of whom dragged the fallen officer's body in front of Guy's building post-shooting.
"It's left a hole that will never heal because we were one," Holly Dinwiddie said in court on November 16. "He was our superman who could do everything. It's been difficult for our kids to grow up without their dad."
McCown said the incident made him feel alone, like he did while serving abroad.
"I wanted to stop it," he said, referring to the threat. "It was shooting at me and my friends."
Closing arguments
Prosecutors have argued that Guy's intentions were obvious, setting a scene of him waiting on his bed with a loaded gun for intruders. He ultimately fired nine shots, hitting two officers, including Dinwiddie.
Houston-based TV station KIAH reported that prosecutors in their closing arguments focused on police interviews in which Guy said he could see a trash can outside his bedroom window, arguing that if he could see the trash can, he could see the officers and who he was firing at.
The defense said Guy was alone and panicked because of people breaking into his home. They also tried to refute the prosecution's case by saying that if police could not see inside Guy's residence, there would have been no way for Guy to see outside, either.
"Mistakes and chaos turned into tragedy, but that doesn't equal capital murder," the defense said, according to KCEN-TV.
They also offered condolences to the family and department but said that capital murder charges would not bring him back.
"It was aimed," Bell County Assistant District Attorney Debbie Garrett told the jury. "This is capital murder.
"It's time for justice for Chuck, his family and each and every one of those SWAT officers. "It's time to earn your cape and find Marvin Guy guilty."
Bell County District Attorney Henry Garza, standing near Dinwiddie's sister, father, wife and other members of law enforcement, called it a day of justice.
A Change.org petition that started nine years ago is still open to donations, having raised more than $32,360 of a desired $35,000. It was started by a woman named Brandy Cooper, whose affiliation to Guy remains unknown.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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