2 men charged in gruesome Lansing homicide were recently paroled
LANSING — All three men charged in connection with a gruesome homicide in Lansing on Sunday were on parole or probation, and two of them had been out of prison for only a short time, records show.
Marcus Lee Hayes and Leonard Felton Hayes III, who each face charges of murder and mutilation of a body, and Terrance James Jones, who is charged with mutilation of a body and accessory to a felony after the fact, are charged as fourth-time habitual offenders.
Jones, 37, of Lansing, was paroled March 19 after serving a 3- to 10-year sentence for assault with intent to do great bodily harm or by strangulation, according to court records and the state's criminal offender tracking system.
Leonard Hayes, 42, of Eaton Rapids, was paroled Dec. 19 after serving a sentence of 2 years, 10 months to 25 years for discharging a weapon into a building, according to the state corrections department.
Marcus Hayes, 35, of Lansing, was on probation for a drug offense, the records show.
The men are charged in connection with the death of Zacarri Marquise Taylor, 25, of Battle Creek, whose dismembered body was found in the 1400 block of West Malcolm X Street around 11 a.m. Sunday.
That was about four hours after officers went to the 2100 block of Georgetown Boulevard for "a serious physical altercation between a victim and multiple suspects," police said. Investigators learned two suspects had left the Georgetown location with Taylor, Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee said.
The criminal complaint indicates Taylor was murdered "at or near" an apartment on Georgetown Boulevard, and the disinterment and mutilation occurred "at or near" an address on W. Malcolm X, although police have not discussed those details.
Court records indicate Jones was convicted of assault with intent do great bodily harm in September 2020. The records indicate the incident was a domestic assault in which Jones was accused of wrapping a towel around a woman's throat and pulling on it.
Court records indicate he also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit armed robbery in a 2006 case, although corrections records don't list the murder conviction. He was sentenced to a minimum of nine years in prison on the robbery charge in December 2009. Court documents indicate he was charged as an aider-and-abettor in a robbery that went bad.
All of those cases were in the Ingham County court system.
Marcus Hayes had a 2019 heroin possession conviction, a 2016 conviction for failing to register as a sex offender and a 2014 conviction for second-degree criminal sexual conduct, court records indicate. All of those cases were in Eaton County.
Leonard Hayes was convicted of discharging a firearm in or at a building in July 2018 and carrying a concealed weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm in March 2018, the records show. He also has a 2007 conviction for delivering narcotics. All of those cases are in Eaton Counrty.
The men would face enhanced sentences if convicted as fourth-time habitual offenders.
Jones, who is not charged with murder in connection with Taylor's death, still would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years if he is convicted as charged, according to the criminal complaint.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: 2 men charged in gruesome Lansing homicide were recently paroled
