An attorney for a New York man indicted on charges of killing a couple on Dec. 25, 2015, wants to know what the state is promising to the man who allegedly drove David W. Marble Jr. to and from the scene of the slaying in Manchester.
Attorney Pamela Ames is seeking a hearing in August on that motion and two others as the murder case proceeds through the court system.
Marble, now 30, of Rochester, New York, has pleaded not guilty to the two charges of intentional or knowing murder and to a third count of possession of firearm by a prohibited person and has been held without bail.
Marble, who also is referred to as “Dee Money,” was back in court Tuesday morning at the Capital Judicial Center on a charge of terrorizing because of an incident that allegedly happened Jan. 25, 2016, at the Kennebec County jail, where he is being held. However, there was no action in that case in the courtroom. Ames and an assistant district attorney discussed that charge with the judge in chambers, and the hearing was continued until Aug. 3.
That complaint says he threatened to assault one of the corrections officers. The charge is a misdemeanor, carrying a maximum penalty of 364 days in prison.
Marble was indicted in February in connection with the shooting deaths of Eric Williams, 35, and Bonnie Royer, 26, who were found early Dec. 25 in an SUV parked on a dirt road in Manchester not far from their home.
Each had been shot in the head, according to the state medical examiner.
An investigation by Maine State Police indicated the murders were motivated by revenge.
A 12-page affidavit by Detective Christopher Tremblay seeking an arrest warrant for Marble indicates that Marble believed Williams was among those who had burglarized Marble’s apartment just two hours earlier while Marble was being driven to the Portland area on a drug run. Several people involved in the burglary indicated Royer was not there.
The same affidavit names Timothy Bragg, allegedly the driver for Marble, as the person who bought two firearms for Marble just days before the killings.
It says Bragg “initially said he recently had two handguns stolen out of his vehicle while it was parked in Augusta.” However, later in the same interview, Bragg reportedly told police he bought two handguns for Marble. One of them was a semi-automatic 9 mm Smith & Wesson, bought from a man in Clinton on Dec. 20, 2015. Bragg told police Marble “gave him cash to buy the gun and gave him heroin for going to buy it.”
Two days later, Bragg told police Marble found a gun he liked better on Facebook, and he sent Bragg to purchase that Sig Sauer P250 on Dec. 22, 2015, in Auburn.
Police said the three fired cartridge cases recovered from the scene of the double homicide were .40 caliber, and that they matched cartridge cases obtained from the seller of the Sig Sauer when he test-fired the weapon prior to selling it.
The affidavit also says investigators found “an arced set of tire tracks going around the front of (Williams’ vehicle). The tracks looked fresh and were not identified as (emergency) responders.” Police photographed the tracks and took casts for comparisons, but the affidavit does not identify the vehicle that might have left those tracks.
Ames filed “Defendant Motion for disclosure of inducements, immunity and/or promises to Timothy Bragg.”
The motion says that if Bragg were to testify, he “would state he provided David Marble Jr. with transportation away from the alleged murder scene, back to the alleged murder scene and again away from the alleged murder scene therefore making him an accomplice to murder. The attorney general’s office has stated that they have not and do not intend to charge Timothy Bragg for his criminal conduct in this matter.”
The defense also is asking for the state to disclose the “full name, date of birth and current address” of a person described in court documents as Maine Drug Enforcement Agency “Confidential Informant #4263,” who allegedly witnessed Bragg buy two firearms for Marble. The motion for disclosure of identity says the confidential informant gave investigators “information regarding drug trafficking, the identity of other individuals involved as well as the knowledge of David Marble Jr.’s apartment being broken into and televisions being stolen.”
That filing says Bragg has been interviewed “multiple times” by police “and is a critical witness for the prosecution” in the murder case.
A third defense motion seeks to separate the murder charges against Marble from the charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. The firearms charge says Marble was convicted previously in Monroe County, New York, of robbery in the third degree and of criminal possession of a controlled substance, fifth degree: intent to sell, both felony convictions.
She said a jury might be unduly prejudiced against Marble because of those convictions.
“If the defendant chose not to testify, without (the firearms charge), the jury would not be informed of any prior criminal conduct including such convictions for robbery and drug trafficking. It is also reasonable to believe that even if the defendant did testify, without (the firearms charge), that said convictions would not be allowed,” she wrote.
Ames said Tuesday she anticipates a hearing on the motions “hopefully in August.” Marble also is represented by attorney David Geller.
A court clerk said a date might be scheduled for early to mid-August.
Court records indicate the state has yet to respond to the motions filed in May. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Marchese and Assistant Attorney General Meg Elam are listed as the prosecutors in the murder case.
A week after the bodies of Williams and Royer were discovered, neighbors, friends, and family members of Williams and Royer took part in a memorial vigil outside the couple’s home on Easy Street in Augusta.
At the vigil, Williams was described by his father as “a big-hearted guy” who would drop everything to help someone else. He was a graduate of Cony High School and Kennebec Valley Community College, where he studied electrical line work.
Royer, who had a 6-year-old daughter and attended Cony High School, was remembered by a friend as someone who was “full of life and had such a kind, big heart.”
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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