Marcus Hamilton, 30 Madison, WI shot dead

[Mysticalmom]

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/293907

Coroner identifies man shot to death on Madison's southwest side
The Capital Times — 7/01/2008 8:08 am

The Dane County Coroner's office has identified the victim in a fatal shooting Sunday night on Madison's southwest side.

The victim was Marcus T. Hamilton, 30. Madison police are looking for two suspects who shot and killed him at a home at 7107 Tempe Drive, near McKee Road and Silverton Trail.

Officers were sent to the residence after being notified someone had been shot.

Hamilton was transported to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.

Police said this was not a random shooting

[Mysticalmom]

Coroner identifies man shot to death on Madison's southwest side
The Capital Times — 7/01/2008 8:08 am

The Dane County Coroner's office has identified the victim in a fatal shooting Sunday night on Madison's southwest side.

The victim was Marcus T. Hamilton, 30. Madison police are looking for two suspects who shot and killed him at a home at 7107 Tempe Drive, near McKee Road and Silverton Trail.

Officers were sent to the residence after being notified someone had been shot.

Hamilton was transported to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.

Police said this was not a random shooting

[Mysticalmom]

Southwest side shooting victim remembered as 'sweetheart'
Neighbors call area quiet, despite recent burglaries

Samara Kalk Derby — 7/01/2008 12:04 pm

Marcus Hamilton was a "sweetheart," said his godmother, Mable Crawford, sitting outside the southwest side duplex where Hamilton, 30, was shot and killed late Sunday night.


"He didn't do anything to anybody. He was a giver more than anything. He didn't deserve what he got," said Crawford, sitting on the front steps next to Hamilton's father, who said he didn't feel like talking.

Hamilton's cousin, Tremayne Rhodes, said he and Hamilton were raised together by two young mothers on the west side of Chicago. They ate together and slept in the same bed together, he said.

"This is the worst thing to date I will have to deal with," Rhodes, 29, said.

Hamilton, who lived on Tempe Drive near McKee Road and Silverton Trail, shared a home with girlfriend Jami Anderson and four children, including an infant of Anderson's and Hamilton's, who was born in December.


A neighbor said the children were all at home when two men came to the door, looking for Hamilton.

The Dane County Coroner's Office said preliminary autopsy findings confirm that Hamilton died as the result of a single gunshot wound.

Madison police have said it was not a random shooting and are looking for the two men involved.

Rhodes said the killing is probably drug-related. "I'm 100 percent sure," Rhodes said by phone from Chicago.

"He had sold a little bit of drugs in his time. He got in a position where he could provide for his family. I wouldn't doubt that somebody heard that he might have still been doing it or might have had some money."

Being a city kid, Hamilton tried to dress nice, Rhodes said.

"We always would compete on dressing," he said. Before getting together with his cousin, Rhodes said he would have to go to the store and buy something nice "because either Marcus or my brother is going to come real fly and I have to dress so I won't be the one who gets talked about."

The two cousins were supposed to see each other this weekend at a July Fourth family reunion in Chicago.


Even if he was selling drugs, the men who robbed him could have just taken what they wanted and left, Rhodes said. "They didn't have to take him -- in front of his kids, too. That's just no morals at all. If you are going to be a thief, be a thief. Don't turn into a killer at the same time."

Rhodes said they were raised in a bad neighborhood in Chicago, and he thought that his cousin was safe in a city like Madison.

"Everybody moves away from Chicago to get away from the trouble. I guess it's just bad karma to find it somewhere else," Rhodes said.


Sherrie Witt, 51, who lives in the duplex next door, said one of the neighbors tried to perform CPR.

"It's sad. Whatever type of trouble the man was in, no one deserves to get point-blank shot," she said.

Some of Hamilton's friends called him Eugene or "Polo," Witt said. "We called him 'Slim' because we didn't know what his name was. He was a real skinny person. He was a nice guy, really friendly," she said.

"He was very neighborly. More so than anyone else in the neighborhood and we've been here seven years," Witt said.

She said Hamilton had two children, who he would have every other weekend. Anderson had a daughter, and the two of them had a baby together in December.

Witt said Anderson went to work every morning, while Hamilton stayed home during the day with the baby. She wasn't sure if Hamilton worked in the evening or had a part-time job.

"He was kind of a fancy dresser. He always dressed to a T. We'd always say, 'Pull up your pants. Nice clothes -- do they come in your size?'" she said.

Witt said that Hamilton recently bought a fancy vehicle, a collector's car, and took it in for a paint job.

"Everyone decided it was a terrible job for what he paid. He took it back and had it redone," she said.

Hamilton put big wheels on it, a loud sound system inside of it, and "hooped it all up," Witt said. He was outside detailing it a couple of weeks ago with the stereo on loudly and the police came and told him to turn it down, she said.

Witt called it a safe neighborhood, where once in a while "you get kids out causing trouble."

Other residents on the block called it a quiet neighborhood with a lot of kids, but at the same time pointed out that there has been a rash of recent burglaries.

"It's pretty quiet and diverse," said Joni Theobald, 38, a mother of four.

"It's scary the thought that they could have done it with kids around. It's an unfortunate thing," said Theobald, who is in the process of moving to Duluth, Minn., and was bringing unwanted items to the curb on Monday.

Theobald called it especially tragic that Hamilton's son was there when his father was killed. He ran to the neighbor's house to call for help, she said.

Hamilton's son, who she guesses is 9 or 10, was helping her drag items out of her home Sunday. There was a couch on the curb, and the boy said he wanted to lie on it and go to sleep.

"All the kids play together. It's like a little Sesame Street on this side of the street," said Theobald. "They would all get together and play kickball or soccer. If there's a noise level, it's usually the kids."

Theobald noted that there have been a lot of break-ins recently. Her home has been broken into three times in the past eight months, she said. Someone broke into her home during the day when she was at work, found the keys and stole her truck, which the police found at Elver Park, she said.

Groups of young guys are responsible based on what they are taking, she said.

Mark and Joyce Richardson, who moved to the neighborhood from San Antonio, Texas, a year ago, said they were surprised to learn there was a murder on their street Sunday.

"It might be more than something random, I heard. That's not comforting, but it's more comforting than if it was something that happened for no reason," Joyce Richardson said.

The Richardsons said there was a break-in last week in their apartment building's underground garage.

"I thought it was a pretty quiet neighborhood. We don't have any kids so we don't worry so much," Mark Richardson said.

Toussaint Placca, 39, from Togo, West Africa, is a home health care provider who stays with a disabled client a few houses down from the murder scene.

He said he heard fighting first, then a gunshot, followed by a boy shouting and screaming. The police responded in five to 10 minutes, Placca said.

"It was so scary," he said. "Here is a safe neighborhood. It's very safe. We never see that type of violence."

[Mysticalmom]

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/294104

Cops praise public's help in trying to find murder suspects
Bill Novak — 7/01/2008 11:07 am

Madison police detectives are getting a lot of help from the community in trying to track down the suspects who shot Marcus Hamilton to death Sunday night, according to police spokesman Joel DeSpain.

"We are very pleased that people within the community are being very forthcoming and helping us," DeSpain said. "We are getting good information."

Hamilton, 30, was shot and killed in his southwest side duplex on Tempe Drive near McKee Road and Silverton Trail. An autopsy performed Monday showed Hamilton was killed by a single gunshot wound.

DeSpain said detectives have set up a command center at the west precinct station on McKenna Boulevard.

The two male suspects have not been named, and DeSpain did not know if they were from the Madison area or from outside the area.

Hamilton was originally from Chicago and was living in the duplex with his girlfriend and four children, according to Capital Times reporter Samara Kalk Derby.

She also reported Hamilton's cousin, Tremayne Rhodes, said the killing was most likely drug-related, since Hamilton "sold a little bit of drugs in his time," Rhodes told Kalk Derby.

DeSpain said no motive has been established by police.

"There are a number of different motives we are looking at," DeSpain said. "We do believe, however, he was targeted."

Hamilton's murder was the fourth in Madison and fifth overall in Dane County in 2008.

Joel Marino was murdered Jan. 28 in Madison, with his alleged killer, Adam Peterson, arrested June 26 in Minnesota; infant Aaron Roberts was killed Feb. 17 in Waunakee by his father David Roberts, who pleaded no contest to first-degree reckless homicide in May; Tyree Jacobs was beaten to death March 8 in Madison, with James Anderson charged with second-degree reckless homicide; and Brittany Zimmermann was murdered April 2 in her downtown Madison apartment, with her killer still at large.

[Mysticalmom]

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/293908

Police are seeking two black men in their 20s. One is 5 feet 10 inches and 140 pounds with a dark complexion and thin build. The other is 6 feet and 170 pounds with a light complexion and medium build.


• TCT: Victim's neighbors remember him as 'nice guy'
• Location of shooting


Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said it appears that Hamilton was targeted. "It wasn't a random attack," DeSpain said.

"Detectives are currently trying to determine why he was targeted."

DeSpain said a search of Hamilton's record would explain why police believe he was targeted. A search of the Wisconsin Circuit Court database shows misdemeanor obstructing an officer convictions, a misdemeanor battery conviction and several traffic-related offenses.

Tiffany Douglas, who lives a few doors from the victim, said the house at 7107 Tempe Drive was occupied by Hamilton, Jami L. Anderson and four children — the youngest an infant whose parents are Anderson and Hamilton.

Thomas Olson, who owns the duplex on Tempe Drive, said Monday Anderson and Hamilton had been living in the duplex for two years.

Contacted Monday afternoon, Anderson said she did not want to talk to reporters.

Douglas said four children were at the home at 7107 Tempe Drive when two men came to the door, looking for Hamilton. Hamilton had four children, including three of those at the residence Sunday — a 9-year-old son, an 8-year-old daughter, and a 7-month-old daughter. One of Anderson's children from a previous relationship was also at the house.

Douglas said the 9-year-old boy told her that after the two men entered the house, one man took Hamilton upstairs, specifically looking for something, while the other man stayed downstairs with Anderson and the four children. The men asked Hamilton, "Where's it at?" Douglas said the boy told her.

There was a gunshot, Hamilton's 9-year-old boy heard it and immediately ran to Douglas's house and told her the story. She said she and another neighbor called police.

Douglas said she did not think the arrival of the men was random.

She said Hamilton had two pit bulls, and the men who entered seemed to know the dogs were friendly (more at link)

[Nut44x4]

Reported on THU., JUL 24, 2008 - 8:41 PM

Madison police on Thursday released a photo of Promethius "Slim" Brown, the second man being sought in the June 29 killing of Marcus T. Hamilton, 30, in his Tempe Drive home.

Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said Brown, 19, has connections to both Madison and Chicago, where Amir "Buck" Furlow, the believed triggerman in the shooting death of Hamilton, was arrested Monday. Brown is believed to have gone into Hamilton's house with Furlow as a partner in the apparent robbery gone wrong.

Brown is wanted on a felony murder and armed burglary warrant, police said. Furlow was arrested on the same tentative charges Monday with the help of Chicago police and the U.S. Marshals' Fugitive Task Force.

Police this week said Brown was believed to be in the Chicago area, but that may have changed.

"We don't know that Brown has come back to Madison, but we do know that he has associates in the city," DeSpain said. "He should be considered dangerous."

Anyone who sees Brown should call 911, police said. People who have information about his possible whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers at 266-6014.

Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Madison police previously named Brown as a suspect in Hamilton's killing but hadn't released his photo.

"The picture was being used in some lineups, and now we are releasing it to the public," DeSpain said.

Furlow, 19, had an address in Chicago associated with him that helped police find him. For Brown, police have no specific address, DeSpain said.

Police said Hamilton was attacked as he left his duplex at 7107 Tempe Drive with some of his children about 10:30 p.m. Two men in dark hoodies forced Hamilton and the children back inside, police said, where Furlow allegedly held Hamilton in a headlock with a gun to his head and took him to an upstairs bedroom.

Hamilton's girlfriend, Jami Anderson, told police she heard Furlow say, "Give me your money, give me all your money," followed by a single gunshot from the bedroom. She said she fled with the children to a neighbor's house as Brown went upstairs to join Furlow.

Anderson shared the duplex with Hamilton and four children, police said.

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/297673

[Nut44x4]

Crucial witness disappears in Madison homicide case

Aug. 8--A judge on Thursday signed a warrant for a man whose testimony prosecutors say is needed to provide critical evidence against the alleged triggerman in a June shooting death during a burglary on Tempe Drive.

Artis L. Furlow, 29, failed to appear as a subpoenaed witness at a preliminary hearing Thursday for Amir "Buck" Furlow, 19, who is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and armed burglary in the death of Marcus T. Hamilton. According to court testimony, Artis Furlow and Amir Furlow are cousins.

Assistant District Attorney Shelly Rusch identified Artis Furlow as a confidential witness referred to in a criminal complaint who told police that after the shooting Amir Furlow and his accomplice told him that they were involved in a robbery that "went bad" and "somebody might have gotten killed."

Amir Furlow was arrested in Chicago on July 21 and is being held in the Dane County Jail on $500,000 bail. Police are still looking for Promethius "Slim" Brown, 19, Furlow's alleged accomplice. He is wanted on a warrant for felony murder and armed burglary.

Hamilton, 30, was fatally shot during an armed burglary shortly before 10:30 p.m. June 29 in his Tempe Drive home. Four children were in the home then.

According to the complaint, the witness now identified as Artis Furlow also told police Brown had a .44-caliber revolver with him at the time, and that Amir Furlow said after the events on Tempe Drive that "dude got hit with a .44 and he might not make it," and that Amir Furlow also said "dude had kids with him," which Amir Furlow had not expected.

During the preliminary hearing, Madison Police Detective David Parrell said the state Crime Laboratory identified a bullet recovered from Hamilton's torso as from a .44-caliber handgun.

Rusch said the material witness warrant issued Thursday is "an extreme measure" used only when the presence of a witness is "necessary and critical." Such a warrant can only be sought after a subpoenaed witness fails to appear to testify and there is no other practical way to ensure the witness

will appear at a later date, she said.

According to the criminal complaint, a second confidential witness told police that in a July 14 phone conversation he had with Brown, Brown asked if people were "snitching" on him and if "there is something we can do about it?" The witness said he believed Brown was asking whether people could be hurt or killed to keep them quiet.

According to online court records, a bench warrant for Artis Furlow also was issued Monday after he failed to appear at a plea and sentencing hearing on a criminal traffic charge of driving without a valid license.

Dane County Circuit Judge John Albert signed the material witness warrant for Artis Furlow after granting a continuance following testimony by Parrell and another witnesses in the preliminary hearing, where prosecutors must present sufficient evidence for Amir Furlow to stand trial.

Parrell testified that he spoke to Artis Furlow by phone twice since Tuesday.

Rusch later said Artis Furlow said he would be present to testify at today's preliminary hearing.

District Attorney Brian Blanchard declined to comment on what the absence of Artis Furlow's testimony would mean for the prosecution's case.

Also Thursday, Christine Jones, 36, testified that Amir Furlow and Promethius Brown came to her home on Hammersley Drive at about 10:30 or 11 the night of the shooting and went directly to the basement. She said Amir Furlow's cousin, Artis Furlow, a friend of hers who had been staying at her home, was in the basement at the time.

"They rushed in like they had to go to the bathroom or something," Jones said, adding that Amir Furlow appeared to be holding his crotch.

Jones said both were wearing hooded sweat shirts, which she thought were black, with the hoods up on their heads.

According to the criminal complaint, Hamilton's partner, Jami Anderson, told police the two men involved in the burglary and shooting were both black and in their mid- to late-20s, and wore dark hooded sweat shirts that concealed their faces.

Parrell testified that a Badger Cab was dispatched at 11:48 p.m. to Jones' Hammersley Road address, 2ï¿ 1/2 miles from the scene of the Tempe Drive shooting. There, Parrell said, the driver picked up two young black men and dropped them off in the 700 block of North Thompson, where Amir Furlow lived.

http://tinyurl.com/43mwum

[dreamweaver]

I read your thread. Has the witness been located?
What is the most recent information?

I just started a thread for a family friend, David E Lewis. He was murdered and his cabin set on fire, Ashland, OR, Sept. 4, 2008.

I hope they find the killer and justice is served.

[Mysticalmom]

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=306336
Second man arrested in Tempe Drive murder
Mike Miller — 9/24/2008 4:44 pm

Promethius Brown, wanted in Madison since the June 29 slaying of Marcus Hamilton on Tempe Drive, was arrested Wednesday in Chicago, Madison police said.

It marks the third time the Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force has made an arrest in recent months of someone wanted in Wisconsin on a homicide charge.

In July the task force arrested Amir "Buck" Furlow, 19, for his role in the killing of Hamilton, shot to death in his home in the 7100 block of Tempe Drive.

And in May officers from the same task force arrested James P. Bohanan, who had been wanted since the summer of 2007 for the shooting death of Kevin Cobbins, 26, following a party at a duplex on Loreen Drive on the city's west side.

Brown, 19, had been wanted on warrants charging him with felony murder and armed burglary for the June 29 incident in which Hamilton was killed.

According to court documents in both his case and that of Furlow, the pair went to the home of Hamilton and confronted him as Hamilton was leaving to take children back to their custodial parent. Brown put Hamilton into a headlock and the pair forced Hamilton back into the house.

Furlow and Brown demanded money and he agreed to turn over his money to the pair, court records say. But at that point Hamilton's girlfriend, who was in another room, heard a shot go off. Hamilton died from a shot to the chest. Furlow is charged with first degree intentional homicide for the killing, while Brown is charged with felony murder. In Wisconsin, any willing participant in a felony can be charged with murder if someone dies as a result of the felony. In this case, authorities charge that Brown agreed to commit a robbery of Hamilton, and because Furlow killed Hamilton during the robbery, he can be charged with first degree intentional homicide and Brown can be charged with felony murder.

There was little information on how and where Brown was found by the task force, other than word passed on by Chicago Police Department detective James Sherlock that Brown was arrested Wednesday morning.

"The Madison Police Department would like to thank Detective Sherlock, and other members of the Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force, for seeking out and finding Mr. Brown," Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said.

Furlow was ordered to stand trial for the murder of Hamilton in a written decision issued Tuesday by Dane County Circuit Court Judge John Albert. Albert heard two days of testimony at a preliminary hearing, including testimony from Furlow's cousin, Artis Furlow, who said Amir made statements to the effect that he thought the guy, Hamilton, was reaching for a gun so he let one go with his .44 caliber pistol.

[Mysticalmom]

http://www.madison.com/tct/top5/index.php?ntid=305524&source=rss
Update: Third man involved in Tempe Drive murder, witness says
Mike Miller — 9/18/2008 10:53 pm

The case against those accused in the shooting death of Marcus T. Hamilton at his Tempe Road home in late June took another twist Thursday when it became apparent at the end of a preliminary hearing that a third man was likely involved in the killing.

Amir "Buck" Furlow, 19, has been arrested and charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the killing while his alleged partner, Promethius "Slim" Brown, also 19, is named in an arrest warrant for his role in the killing. Brown has not yet been found. Brown is charged with felony murder, and both he and Furlow are charged with armed burglary as well.

According to a criminal complaint filed against the two men, they went to Hamilton's home to rob him, saw Hamilton, 30, as he was leaving the home with children. Furlow put him into a headlock and forced him back into the house at gunpoint, the complaint says.

Hamilton's girlfriend told police that the two men demanded money from Hamilton, and although he agreed to give them money she heard a shot. Hamilton was killed by a shot to the chest, an autopsy later showed.

The men fled the city, but Furlow was captured in Chicago while Brown remains at large.

Furlow's preliminary hearing concluded Thursday with the testimony of his cousin, Artis Furlow, 29, and another Madison man, Corey Marioneaux, 32, who spoke of a third man as being involved, perhaps as the leader of the group.

Marioneaux said he rented out his Dodge Charger the night of the murder to Leroy Sharp, 30, of Madison. Sharp in turn allowed Brown use of the car. Marioneaux said he and Sharp saw Brown and another man with the Charger at a gas station, and then Sharp gave Marioneaux directions as to where to drive.

Sharp was also on the cell phone, apparently talking to Brown in the Charger, who was following directions given by Sharp, Marioneaux said.

They then drove, with Marioneaux in the lead followed by the Charger, to the site of Hamilton's home on Tempe Drive. Marioneaux said Sharp pointed out the house to Brown and his companion, then both cars drove away. Marioneaux said he turned to the right a few blocks later and watched as Brown turned to the left, then backed up and went back toward Hamilton's house.

Later that evening, Marioneaux said, he and Sharp met with Brown again and he handed Sharp some money. Marioneaux said he understood that to be Sharp's portion of the robbery proceeds and Marioneaux then realized the group had robbed his friend Hamilton. He said he did not realize until the next day that Hamilton had been killed.

His implication of a third man involved in the robbery and murder was another in a list of strange developments in the case.

Earlier when Furlow was scheduled for a preliminary hearing, a seldom-used material witness was ordered for the arrest of Artis Furlow, who did not show up to testify about his cousin's activities that night. Later, Artis Furlow came back to Madison a week later and said he didn't make the first hearing because he was in Chicago and couldn't make it back in time.

Later, he was arrested for possession of crack cocaine in Fitchburg and still has that charge hanging over his head.

He also testified at Thursday's hearing, but was not as clear as the criminal complaint makes him out to be when he discussed how Amir Furlow and Brown came to his apartment after the shooting.

In the complaint Artis Furlow is quoted as saying his cousin Amir said he had to shoot the man (Hamilton), because Amir thought Hamilton was going for a gun.

Artis Furlow, who has mental issues which make it difficult for him to clearly remember things, went through what assistant district attorney Shelly Rusch called a "torturous" time on the witness stand, but in the end said statements to detectives he made were generally accurate. That included Amir Furlow's description of the shooting as an accident, he said.

Asked after the hearing whether Sharp would face charges in the case, assistant district attorney Brian Asmus said only, "no comment."

Rusch argued to Dane County Circuit Court Judge John Albert that the case should be ordered to trial and assistant state public defender Jon Helland countered that there was no direct evidence to link Amir Furlow to the killing.

Albert withheld ruling in the case until Friday or Monday, so he could have a chance to read a transcript of an earlier session of the hearing, but he did say he was inclined to order Furlow to trial.