Conviction in Montgomery Shooting: Marquis Phillips Receives Life Sentence
Fleeing Suspects Arrested: Closure Achieved in Montgomery Murder Case
According to WSFA12, Marquis Lequan Phillips, 26, has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to intentional murder, a lesser charge than his initial indictment of capital murder. The conviction stems from the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Dequan Johnson on February 16, 2021 in southeast Montgomery. Court records indicate that Johnson was in a car at Home Inn and Suites on Express Drive when Phillips and another individual shot into the vehicle multiple times during a hotel robbery. Tragically, Johnson succumbed to his injuries in the car which subsequently crashed into the hotel.
Investigators revealed that both Phillips and his co-defendant, J’Hance Tramatez Gillum fled the scene following the shooting. While Gillum was apprehended on the night of the incident, Phillips managed to evade capture until the following morning when he was arrested after a car chase. The resolution of this hotel robbery case, with Phillips receiving a life sentence brings a measure of closure to the community and justice for the victim’s family albeit three years after the tragic event occurred.
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District Attorney Urges Action Against Gun Violence Amid Legal Proceedings
Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey believes Marquis Phillips should be imprisoned for life for killing Dequan Johnson during this hotel robbery case. But Bailey also regrets the many young lives lost to gun violence. He noted that impulsive actions driven by conflict lead to tragic outcomes and urged community intervention and prevention programs to tackle the root causes of this violence.
While the investigation continues, J’Hance Tramatez Gillum, 22 years old, is still being held in jail until his trial. Gillum, like Phillips, has been charged with capital murder which shows how serious the charges against him are during hotel robbery. The community is coming to terms with the awful effects of gun violence and the pressing need to address the problems that keep it happening as the legal battle continues.