TEXARKANA -- Members of the Miller County jury that sentenced a Texarkana man to life in prison last week for killing someone over a parking space said the defendant's own words sealed his fate.
Marvin Arrell Stanton, 49, was found guilty of first-degree murder in less than an hour and was sentenced to the maximum punishment in roughly the same amount of time in the shooting death of Jesse James Hamilton, 22, with a .45-caliber pistol in the parking lot of Raceway convenience store Sept. 25.
The jury also found that Stanton used a firearm in the commission of a felony. It assessed the maximum 15-year term, which must by law run consecutively to the life sentence.
"He dug his hole. He dug his own hole, he crawled in it, and he pulled the dirt over on top of him," one juror said of Stanton's testimony. "He is a narcissistic bully."
When Stanton took the stand Wednesday, he gave a rambling account of what led to the shooting, under questioning from his lawyer, Toney Brasuell of Little Rock. Stanton said he mistook Hamilton for an acquaintance when he pulled his motorcycle up next to Hamilton's truck, where it sat idling near the Raceway's gas pumps. He shouted for Hamilton to move his truck.
Stanton couldn't explain why he didn't tell Hamilton that he thought Hamilton was someone else, apologize and walk away if what he said was true.
Stanton ordered Hamilton, who was preparing to leave, to move his truck in a menacing tone several times before Hamilton and his friends, Lavon Strong and Sanmarcos Jacobs, exited the pickup. Hamilton faced Stanton, and when Stanton boasted about his past Marine Corps service, Hamilton quipped that he had recently gotten out of the Marine Corps, as well, and that their common experiences should lead them to treat one another with more respect.
But Stanton, who stands about 6 feet and weighs 345 pounds, continued to bully Hamilton and eventually shoved the much smaller man into the side of the truck. Hamilton came up swinging and got the best of Stanton before he was pulled off of Stanton by Stanton's girlfriend, Emily Robinson. The fight was over. Stanton drew his gun and shot Hamilton once in the abdomen, knicking his aorta, shredding his gut and severing a vertebra in his spine. Hamilton died four hours later on an operating table.
Defensive, indefensible
About three questions into cross examination by Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Black, Stanton lost his composure and spoke in a booming voice that led court bailiffs to move closer to the witness stand. As Black continued to question Stanton, he shouted at her, gestured and bellowed, leading to several admonishments from Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson.
At one point during cross examination, Stanton answered and added the word "dear," referring to Black. A second juror interviewed said Stanton appeared to be speaking down to Black and that he clearly did not appreciate being questioned by a woman.
The first juror interviewed said Stanton's eight years of service as a Marine, his status as a concealed-carry firearms instructor and his age made it even more difficult to understand his conduct. The juror said Stanton's decision to carry a gun and 40 bullets loaded into three magazines on what he claimed was a casual motorcycle ride was of concern.
"Who brings a gun to a fistfight?" the first juror said. "This was a brawl. There was no reason, no reason, for him to pull his gun out and shoot."
Black asked Stanton why he didn't fight back when Hamilton landed the first punch after Stanton shoved him.
"This entire jury wants to know why a 345-pound ex-Marine couldn't use his fists to defend a threat against a 170-pound kid," Black asked. "Would you rather shoot him with your gun than punch him with your fists?"
It was in response to those questions that Stanton's presence, through his thundering voice and palpable anger, filled the large second-floor courtroom at the Miller County courthouse.
During his testimony, Stanton claimed he was afraid Hamilton's blows might lead him to suffer brain damage as is found in professional boxers or babies who are shaken.
One of the jurors interviewed said Stanton's demeanor on the witness stand and his response when Black asked him what he would do differently if he could relive the night of Sept. 25 led the jury to view Stanton as a man without remorse. Stanton testified that he would act the same today as he did the night he killed Hamilton, given the same circumstances.
A violent history
Hamilton's friend, Lavon Strong, testified that before shoving Hamilton, Stanton lifted his shirt to reveal his gun. Strong described Stanton as the aggressor and a bully.
The first juror interviewed said she was undecided about the punishment Stanton should receive until she heard witnesses testify in the punishment phase. Mack Hamilton, who is not related to Jesse Hamilton, testified that he was just trying to give Stanton an invoice for construction work performed on Stanton's wife's medical clinic when Stanton threatened him with a pistol. Shana Craig told the jury Stanton blindsided her when he struck her in the face at a restaurant in 2014.
"We had to ask ourselves, 'Do we want this bully back on the street?'" the first juror interviewed said of deciding Stanton's punishment. "If we only gave 10 or 15 years, what kind of message would we be sending?"
The jurors both said abrupt ends to lines of questioning following objections from the defense during the trial led them to wonder what they didn't know.
The state was unable to produce Sanmarcos Jacobs, one of Hamilton's friends who witnessed the murder. A police officer's body camera video of Jacobs giving his account in the parking lot of the Raceway shortly after the shooting was ruled inadmissible at Stanton's trial. Defendants have a constitutional right to confront their accusers at trial. The video was played in court outside the jury's presence.
Jacobs' version mirrored Strong's. Stanton was the aggressor. Hamilton surprised Stanton when he stood up to him. The fistfight was over when Stanton fired from fewer than 10 feet.
While the jury did hear some testimony from Shana Craig about the evening Stanton rendered her unconscious at a Sonic restaurant in October 2014, they didn't hear her testify about what motivated his anger. Craig told the jury she was sitting at a table with a couple of friends talking when their gazes caused her to look over her shoulder.
"He hit me as hard as he could, like I was a man," Craig said in an interview with the Gazette Friday. "He knocked me out."
Craig said she met Stanton through mutual friends and was invited by him to join the Juggernauts motorcycle club. Through the club, Craig became friends with Emily Robinson, a woman with whom Stanton had a relationship. Craig said Robinson began to fear Stanton because of his controlling, aggressive and violent behavior. Craig gave Robinson a key to her apartment so that she would have a safe place to go.
Stanton, whose marital status is unclear, was living with the mother -- a local pediatrician -- of two of his six children, and Robinson was living in a room in their home when Craig met Robinson, Craig said. Craig said Stanton became enraged when he learned Robinson had a key to her apartment. Stanton took the key from Robinson and entered Craig's apartment when she was away, stealing an old cellphone and her Social Security card.
Craig said Stanton found photos on the old phone he sent to others without her consent and that he used her Social Security card and other identification to run background checks on her as if she were seeking employment at his wife's medical clinic.
"He was just trying to make Emily jealous and me look bad," Craig said. "He wants to control everything."
Craig said she gave copies of threatening text messages from Stanton to the president of the Juggernauts and resigned from the club. It was after that, Craig said, that Stanton approached her at Sonic and assaulted her.
"I know this man personally. He's dangerous," Craig said. "He's where he needs to be for the rest of his life."
A grieving family
Jesse Hamilton had lunch at the Olive Garden with his wife, mother and baby on the last day of his life.
"I still have the voicemail he left on my phone that day, thanking me for meeting him for lunch," Rebecca Jeanes said as tears stained her cheeks. "The last time I saw him he was lifeless on a hospital bed."
Jeanes said she still finds little notes that say, "I love you mom," penned in her son's hand, stuck in books and other spots around her home.
Jeanes, a nurse, said she avoids State Line Avenue because she can't bear to glance at the parking lot where her son's life ended.
"When people who don't know me ask if I have children, I have to explain that Jesse died over a parking spot at a convenience store," the grieving mother said. "I only try to put one foot in front of the other every day."
Jeanes said she feels her family has been given a life sentence.
"He was a son, he was a husband, he was a daddy, a brother, an uncle and a grandson," Jeanes said. "His life was ripped away by a 49-year-old bully."
The family said Jesse Hamilton was a hardworking, loving young man with a zest for life who recently completed a four-year term of service in the Marine Corps. During the trial, no fewer than 15 of Hamilton's family clustered together in the courtroom's uncomfortable wooden benches each day.
Hamilton's widow, Anna Hamilton, said she struggles with the loss of the love of her life.
"We met at church when we were 13. We started dating when were about 15, and we married when we were 19. He was my first love, my only love. Jesse had the brightest blue eyes, the sweetest heart," Anna said. "Our little girl, his mom and me, had lunch with him at Olive Garden that day, and Ainsley said 'Daddy' for the very first time."
Anna Hamilton said she was awakened at 4 a.m. Sept. 26 by two police officers.
"I lost my husband and my best friend, and our little girl lost her daddy," Anna Hamilton testified. "I was lucky to know him, and our daughter won't get that privilege."
Anna Hamilton said that while the jury's guilty verdict helps, she still hurts, especially for the daughter she is now raising without a father.
"She will only have pictures and a few of his belongings. He won't be there when she starts kindergarten or to walk her down the aisle," Anna Hamilton said. "And someday, I'm going to have to tell her that daddy lost his life over a place to park. Over something trivial, something stupid."
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Cotten, who prosecuted the case with Black, said the case hit close to home.
"Being a father of daughters, my heart goes out to Ainsley, the 2-year-old daughter that will never know her father. Ainsley will never get a letter from her father, but Mr. Stanton will receive letters during his life sentence."
Black expressed her gratitude to a hardworking jury.
"This was a senseless murder over a parking spot. I am very happy with the jury's message that our community will not stand for the senseless killing of our citizens."
In Arkansas, there is no parole from a life sentence.
State Desk on 05/08/2016