| MEMPHIS, TN - Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons announced today that the man who shot and killed 9-year-old Marquette Mason plead guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 23 years in prison without parole. The 9-year old was a bystander during an ongoing dispute between the defendant and a known gang member.
Brian Young, 29, shot and killed Mason on May 26, 2002. Mason was standing near the corner of Deadrick Avenue and Bradley Street in Orange Mound and was caught in the crossfire of rival gang members.
Young had been indicted for premeditated first degree murder. That premeditation was based on a prior incident the District Attorney's Office thought it could connect to the defendant indicating a plan to kill his intended victim. However, based upon testimony from a witness during a hearing on a pre-trial motion, the D. A's office concluded it could not use the evidence of the prior incident. Therefore the D.A.'s Office could not ethically proceed with prosecuting Young for premeditated first degree murder.
District Attorney Gibbons, as well as the assistant district attorneys prosecuting the case, met with the victim's family to discuss how the decision was made. The family was in the courtroom when the plea was accepted by Judge Carolyn Wade Blackett. The family indicated they understood the reason to allow the defendant to plead guilty to second degree murder.
Assistant D.A.s Reggie Henderson and Karen Cook handled the case. |