Man pleads guilty to second-degree assault in Lamar Co.
LAMAR COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A man has entered a plea agreement in a January shooting at a Sulligent apartment.
According to District Attorney Andy Hamlin, 19-year-old Marquese Donshae Gunter pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in connection with the January 23rd, shooting at Bogue Court.
Gunter has been sentenced to probation.
As part of the sentence, he will be supervised by the court and is required to complete anger-management treatment.
Gunter appeared Lamar County Circuit Court on Friday, December 5, and admitted he shot Travis Smith while the victim was seated on a couch, unarmed, and posing no threat to anyone in the residence.
His statement was consistent with the evidence.
Questions later arose regarding whether Mr. Gunter acted to protect his mother, but the DA’s office said evidence did not support that theory.
The investigation by the Sulligent Police Department revealed that Gunter, Smith, and Gunter’s
mother and all lived together in the apartment at the time.
Officers arrived the day of the shooting to find Smith suffering from gunshot wounds to his chest and abdomen.
He was taken to Tupelo Hospital and underwent treatment for serious injuries.
Gunter initially ran away but later returned and surrendered the weapon, which he
later said was stolen, and cooperated with law enforcement.
