Bail set for Little Rock armed robbery suspect accused of threatening to shoot toddler

Defense raises possibility that holdup a soured drug deal

Marquis Deshawn Hunt, 35
Marquis Deshawn Hunt, 35

A Pulaski County circuit judge on Monday set bail at $40,000 for a Little Rock armed robbery suspect, accused of threatening to shoot a toddler, after the defendant's attorney suggested the holdup accusations might really stem from a disagreement over a drug deal.

Marquis Deshawn Hunt, 35, has been jailed without bail since he surrendered to police on May 26 to answer charges of aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, terroristic threatening and felon in possession of a firearm.

He was also wanted at the time on a failure to appear charge for not showing up to his Feb. 9 trial over a June 2016 arrest when officers found a gun and more than three-quarters of an ounce of cocaine, 38 grams.

Prosecutors asked for bail of at least $50,000, but defense attorney Mac Carder said Hunt's family couldn't afford that much. He said Hunt's family is trying to find a residential drug-rehabilitation program that will accept him.

The defendant's mother, Lecia Hunt, testified that she's arranged for her son to live with a cousin, Sheila Talbert, in Little Rock. Hunt told the judge she could not take in her son because health problems and other hardships have left her unsure whether she can live on her own.

Deputy prosecutor Jennifer Corbin argued that Marquis Hunt should be considered a flight risk because prosecutors have sufficient evidence to make a conviction likely, he's skipped court before and he's also been convicted of fleeing police before.

[EMAIL UPDATES: Get free breaking news alerts, daily newsletters with top headlines delivered to your inbox]

Testifying at Hunt's bond hearing, robbery detective Bobby Martin told the judge that 42-year-old Lashedrick Tajuan Dailey, who has known Hunt for at least 15 years, identified the defendant as the man who robbed him at gunpoint at Dailey's home at 8005 Woodhaven Drive just before 1 p.m. on April 8.

Martin testified that Dailey said he had just arrived home with his son and saw Hunt on the street. Dailey took the boy into the house and turned around to see that Hunt had followed him inside, the detective said.

Hunt demanded his money so Dailey threw his cash, about $200, on the floor, Martin said. As Hunt was reaching down to pick up the money while trying to keep his pistol leveled at Dailey, the man's 2-year-old son walked into the room.

Dailey told police that Hunt pointed the gun at the boy and said he'd shoot the toddler if Dailey did not surrender the keys to his 2013 blue Dodge Charger, the detective said. Dailey gave him the keys and Hunt left. Martin testified that police found the Charger later that same day.

Police found Hunt's fingerprints on the car, but his attorney disputed that discovery meant much, noting that Hunt told police he had regularly been Dailey's passenger in the car.

Carder told the judge that police have no independent witness to confirm that Hunt took the car. Carder also noted that police found a "law enforcement" license plate with the car, and questioned whether Dailey was legally entitled to possess it, even if he was working as a security guard like he told police.

Noting that Dailey has pending gun and marijuana charges, Carder questioned whether the holdup accusations might really involve a drug deal.

Court records show an arrest warrant was issued for Dailey on Monday when he did not show up for a hearing in Pulaski County Circuit Court on those charges. Dailey's lawyer is challenging the legality of the search that led to the August 2016 discovery of the drug and weapons, court filings show. Dailey is currently on probation for a June 2013 cocaine-trafficking conviction and has a February 2006 conviction for marijuana possession.

Dailey also has a pending fleeing charge in Prairie County over accusations that he led Des Arc police on a June 21 car chase that reached speeds of 100 mph to 134 mph, while driving the same Charger. Police reported that Dailey kept driving even after spike strips burst his tires.

The pursuit ended when he lost control and hit a tree with the car coming to a rest next to the White River, court filings show. Dailey is scheduled to be arraigned on the fleeing charges today in Prairie County Circuit Court.

Court records show that Hunt has been on probation or parole since a June 2002 conviction for drug possession. In August 2003, he pleaded guilty to a firearm charge and his probation was extended until August 2006.

But he was federally indicted in April 2006 on a weapons charge after an October 2015 arrest in Little Rock over allegations he pulled a gun and threatened to shoot a man who had been arguing with a woman Hunt was with. The woman was the man's wife, court files show.

He was indicted again in 2007 on federal charges of trafficking in Ecstasy and cocaine and sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to the charges in April 2008, with prosecutors dropping the gun charge. That prison sentence ran concurrently with an eight-year prison sentence he received in February 2008 for felony battery and fleeing charges.

Court filings show the charges stemmed from his July 2017 arrest for dragging two Little Rock police officers with a car while trying to escape from them.

The officers were investigating complaints about drug dealing around Parkview High School when they pulled over the car Hunt was driving because the Grand Marquis matched the description in the complaint, court filings show. Hunt led police in a car chase that included him striking two other vehicles before he crashed, court filings show.

His arrest last year was due to his parole officer finding a gun and cocaine in the Bogey Lane apartment where Hunt was living, according to an arrest report.

ADVERTISEMENT

More headlines

Metro on 09/20/2017

Upcoming Events