New details in Georgetown Blvd. murder, dismemberment case
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The murder of a 25-year-old Battle Creek man Sunday morning was recorded by home surveillance video, a detective for the Lansing Police Department testified in 54-A Court Tuesday.
Lansing Police Detective Matt Salman testified under oath before 54-A Judge Kristin Simmons to obtain the felony charges against three men in the death of Zacarri Marquise Taylor. The felony probable cause hearing resulted in charges against Marcus Lee Hayes, 35, Leonard Felton Hayes, 42, and Terrence Jones, 37.
The Hayes are both charged with open murder and dismemberment of a dead body, while Jones was charged with being an accessory to a felony after the fact and dismemberment of a dead body. All three were also charged as fourth habitual offenders.
Location where Taylor was allegedly strangled to death.
Detective Salman testified Leonard Hayes was caught on video in a “physical altercation” that “appeared to result in the victim’s death.”
The detective says that in the video, Leonard Hayes, is observed physically fighting with the victim, after being struck by the victim, and proceeds to then strangle the victim on the floor of the living room while the other defendant, Marcus Hayes, watches. The victim is seen struggling, he then signals to forfeit the fight, and then becomes unresponsive and appears unconscious while defendant, Leonard Hayes, continues to strangle. Defendant, Leonard Hayes, then leaves the victim on the floor unresponsive and defendant, Marcus Hayes, begins to strangle the unresponsive victim on the floor and then drag him out of view of the camera.
Transcript of testimony by LPD Detective Matt Salman before Judge Kristin Simmons, Tuesday May 14
The girlfriend of Leonard Hayes told Detective Salman she had watched the incident live on the surveillance video at about 4 a.m. May 12. She told the detective, he testified, “she observed the videos and then she contacted defendant, Leonard Hayes, who stated the victim was breathing and transported to the hospital. The defendant, Leonard Hayes, then asked Moody to delete the videos and it was at that time that she responded to the operations center.”
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The same system, Salman testified, captured the two brothers removing Taylor’s body from the apartment.
I then observe an exterior video from that same apartment that shows both the defendants struggle to carry, what appears to be, an adult body out of the residence wrapped in a bed sheet and towards the area of the parking lot.
Transcript of testimony by LPD Detective Matt Salman before Judge Kristin Simmons, Tuesday May 14
Investigators, Detective Salman testified, learned Marcus Hayes was at a property in the 1400 block of W. Malcolm X St. They detained him and he provided a statement to police, the transcript reveals.
Location where Taylor’s body was found.
The three men are accused of transporting Taylor’s body to the 1400 block of W. Malcolm X St. Police say Marcus Hayes told them it was the home of an associate of Jones’. The trio took Taylor’s body to the basement, where a discussion on how to dispose of the victim’s body took place, Salman testified.
Defendant, Marcus Hayes, stated he brought the victims body into the basement of [1400 block of] West Malcolm X, where, after a discussion that took place between Terrance, Leonard, and Marcus Hayes, the discussion included whether or not to burn the body. Defendant, Leonard Hayes, stated the body would be dismembered and defendant, Marcus Hayes, agreed to do so. The body was placed in the basement of the [1400 block of] Malcolm X residence and dismembered by defendant Marcus Hayes.
Transcript of testimony by LPD Detective Matt Salman before Judge Kristin Simmons, Tuesday May 14
Court records show the bond for both Marcus and Leonard Hayes was denied by 54-A District Court Judge Cynthia M. Ward. Ward set a bond of $200,000 cash or surety for Jones, court records show.
All of these men in this case have prior criminal histories. Jones is currently on parole for a murder conviction. Marcus Lee Hayes spent the majority of the last decade in prison following plea deals for criminal sexual conduct in 2012 and cocaine possession in 2018. Leonard Hayes has also spent time in prison. He entered a guilty plea to cocaine possession in 2002. He was also sentenced for firing a weapon toward a building in 2017.
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