By David Hedges, Publisher
www.thetimesrecord.net
Andrew Justin King received the maxi-mum sentence of 56-to-70 years in prison for the shooting death of a Walton man nearly one year ago.
The 32-year-old defendant known as "AJ" was sentenced Wednesday by Roane Circuit Judge Anita Ashley for the death of Danny Marks, 56, on July 25, 2018.
Marks, a towing business operator and former candidate for sheriff, was killed by a gunshot wound to the head in the Walker Ridge area off U.S. 119.
His brother, Malcolm Marks, addressed the court before the sentencing and told Ashley that King did not deserve any leniency.
"He done wrong and he knows it," he said. "There was no sense in him showing up on my land."
The victim's widow, Terri Marks, and another brother, Frankie Marks, submitted written victim's impact statements, but did not speak at the hearing Wednesday morning.
The courtroom was filled with several members of the Marks family, as well as King's relatives and some curious onlookers.
King did address the court and apologized to the Marks family.
He also repeated his claim that he was acting in self defense.
"I heard gunfire and I returned fire in self-defense," he told the judge.
When he entered his plea, King claimed he fired in self-defense while he was standing on Malcolm Marks' front porch.
King also fired into a vehicle operated by Frankie Marks, and his girlfriend, Terri Paxton. She was struck in the arm and the leg.
Prosecutor Josh Downey called the killing "a senseless act" and said of King, "He put himself in that situation."
He noted the plea included multiple crimes with multiple victims. He also said police suspected King was under the influence of drugs at the time.
King pled guilty to four felony charges in May, including
second-degree murder, two counts of wanton endangerment and burglary.
Danny Marks, who lived a few miles away in Walton, had several relatives who live in the Walker Ridge area. He went to the
neighborhood after King, wanted by police for a burglary a few days earlier in another part of the county, had been spotted in the area on two occasions that night.
Police had tracked King to Walker Ridge using his girlfriend's cellphone. April Estep had been arrested earlier in connection with the burglary and was in jail at the time of the shooting.
The ATV King was riding, and the .45 caliber pistol that killed Marks, were both stolen in the burglary at a home on Mulberry Ridge.
As officers approached the home of Frankie Marks they saw someone fleeing on an ATV.
King wrecked the ATV but escaped on foot.
Police combed the area for three hours before ending the search.
They were called back later that night when King was spotted in the area again, this time near the home of Malcolm Marts.
While on their way to the scene they learned shots had been fired.
When police arrived they found Danny Marks on the ground next to his Jeep with a bullet wound to the forehead. Police believe the shot that killed him may have ricocheted off the Jeep.
Danny Marks was armed with a 9 mm pistol that had been fired twice.
Downey said authorities believe Marks may have fired the gun into the air and not at anyone.
Police spent the rest of the night looking for King, who was arrested the next morning in a wooded area not far from the shooting.
King has been held in jail without bond since his arrest.
Because King had a prior felony conviction in Clay County, on a
burglary charge in 2013, the sentence for second-degree murder could be extended five years under terms of the plea agreement.
Ashley gave King the maximum on each charge and said he would have to serve the sentences one at a time, instead of at the same time.
He was ordered to serve 40 years for second-degree murder, with an additional five years tacked on because of his prior felony conviction.
He was also sentenced to five years on each of the wanton
endangerment charges and 1-to-15 years for burglary.
King will receive credit for 348 days he has served in jail since his arrest.
Ashley also ordered him to pay restitution of $5,499 for the ATV. She said she would reserve judgment on other requests for restitution. including lost wages in the case of the shooting victims.
Defense attorney Alan Pritt argued that those claims should be presented in a civil suit, instead of as part of the criminal case.
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