By David Hedges, Publisher - The
Times Record - Roane County Reporter
Murder case will go to grand jury By DAVID HEDGES
Walton resident Danny Marks, killed by a gunshot to the head, may have fired his gun first.
The information came out at a preliminary hearing last week for Andrew "A.J." King, 31, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of the 56-year-old Marks.
Last Wednesday afternoon's hearing was moved from magistrate court across the street to the Roane County Courthouse, which was full of security. including three sheriff's department employees in the lobby, three more in the hallway outside the courtroom and four in the court-room. Before the hearing began, Magistrate Ron White cautioned members of both the Marks and King families that he would have them removed from the courtroom if there were any outbursts.
"I know this is an emotional time for everyone," White told the family members. Wearing an orange inmate jump-suit, King sat next to his attorney, Alan Pritt of Charleston. King has been held in the regional jail without bond since his arrest July 26, the morning after the shooting death. Prosecutor Josh Downey called a single witness, Chief Roane Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Unger, who is leading the investigation. Unger said police were looking for King the night of July 25 when they went to the Walker Ridge area off U.S. 119, south of Walton, where several members of the Marks family live. Danny Marks lived a few miles away, in Walton.
"There were several of us," Unger said as the officers went to the home of Danny's brother, Frank Marks, around 6 p.m. He said the officers were looking for King in connection with an ATV and three guns stolen from a home on Mulberry Ridge owned by Tom Wilson a few days earlier. King's girlfriend, April Estep, is also a suspect in the ATV theft and Unger said Estep's cellphone had been tracked to the Walker Ridge location.
Estep had been arrested that after-noon in Kanawha County, but Unger said King had her phone. As the officers approached the Frank Marks residence, Unger said, "I heard somebody yell 'There he is' and I heard a four-wheeler screaming up the holler."
King wrecked the ATV but managed to escape on foot. Unger said he called for a tracking dog, provided by the Kanawha Sheriff's Dept. A State Police helicopter also assisted with the search, which Unger said went on for three hours, until after dark. "We never found him," the deputy said. The officers returned at 11:15 p.m. when they learned A.J. King was on the porch at the residence of another brother, Malcolm Marks, who also lives on Walker Ridge. The officers were in Spencer at the time and were heading back to the area when they learned shots had been fired.
When they arrived they found Danny Marks on the ground outside his Jeep. "He was face down with a large bullet hole in his forehead," Unger testified. He said Marks was unresponsive. He was not declared dead until shortly after noon the next day at a Charleston hospital. He said Malcolm Marks and his girlfriend, Teresa, were both inside the residence.
He said officers began to try to secure the area when they heard more gunshots from near the home of Frank Marks, about 80 yards away. Two of those shots struck Terri Paxton, Frank Marks' girlfriend, in the left arm and the leg. Her wounds were not fatal. She and Frank Marks were in a vehicle outside his residence and she was in the passenger seat, Unger said. When the officers saw AJ King running away with a gun, Unger said he and another deputy fired several shots at him. There was no testimony to indicate any of the shots struck King, whom Unger said ran across U.S. 119, slipping under a guardrail and disappearing into the woods.
Police closed the highway and looked for King the rest of the night. He was arrested around 8 a.m. in a wooded area near where he had disappeared. "He did not go far," Unger testified. Unger said the shot that killed Marks was fired from a .45 caliber pistol stolen from the Wilson residence. Several spent .45 shell casings were found on Malcolm Marks' porch.
Danny Marks was armed with a 9 mm pistol. In a brief cross-examination, Pritt noted that two 9 mm spent casings were found near Danny Marks' Jeep, with more outside Frank Marks' home.
Unger said tests for gunshot residue indicated Danny Marks had fired a gun, but there was no way to tell how many times he pulled the trigger. "He fired a firearm," Unger said. When Downey got a second chance to question Unger, he said Danny Marks had told people on the telephone he was going to shoot in the air to scare King, whom he said was not welcome at the Malcolm Marks residence.
Unger also said King had been demonstrating some "bizarre behavior" prior to his arrest.
Downey said there was evidence from a security camera that showed King was on Malcolm Marks' porch. "It's clear that Mr. King fired the shot that killed Mr. Marks," Downey said in closing arguments. He also said the shell casings near Danny Marks matched those found outside the Frank Marks residence. Pritt made no closing statement before White found probable cause to send the charges to circuit court, where they will be considered by a grand jury for possible indictment. In addition to murder, King is also facing charges of attempted murder, malicious wounding, receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle, grand larceny and conspiracy.
A separate warrant from last December charging King with being a prohibited person in possession, a felony was not part of the preliminary hearing. | 
