Multiple law enforcement officers subpoenaed for Mac Marquette gag order hearing
Update (Wednesday, April 3, 10 a.m.) – On Wednesday, a motion to continue the hearing was filed citing several of the city personnel listed have “long-standing plans to be out of town” the week of April 8. It was stated in the motion that the counsel had been informed that neither the State of Alabama, nor the defense, was against the rescheduling.
DECATUR, Ala (WHNT) — The prosecution in the murder case against a former Decatur police officer in the killing of Stephen Perkins plans to subpoena multiple law enforcement witnesses to appear at an April 8 gag order hearing.
In a court filing Monday the Morgan County District Attorney’s Office requested 19 subpoenas for the gag order hearing in the case of Mac Bailey Marquette, a former Decatur police officer.
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Marquette is charged with murder for the on-duty shooting of Perkins in his driveway on Sept. 29, 2023.
Morgan County Circuit Judge Charles Elliot imposed a temporary gag order in the case on March 22 and set the April 8 hearing for argument on making the gag order permanent. The gag order bars out-of-court public discussions of the case or releases of information by the parties involved, including attorneys on all sides.
Last week, after that gag order was issued, the conservative Alabama website 1819 News released what appears to be Marquette’s body camera footage from the night of the Perkins shooting. The website says it’s video that the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) provided to the Morgan County DA’s Office in the Marquette investigation.
It’s not clear how 1819 obtained a copy of the video.
The subpoena list includes several ranking employees of the Decatur Police Department (DPD) including Police Chief Todd Pinion, three employees of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) and Decatur City Councilman Hunter Pepper.
The full subpoena list includes the following names, job titles are taken from the Decatur Police Department’s website as of Monday:
Chief Todd Pinion – Decatur Police Chief;
Capt. Rich Archer – Administrative Division Commander, DPD;
Capt. Justin Lyon – Criminals Investigations Division Commander, DPD;
Capt. George Silvestri – Operations Division Commander, DPD;
Lt. Mike Burleson – General Investigations, DPD;
Lt. Joe Renshaw – Traffic Unit Supervisor, DPD;
Lt. John Harris – DPD;
Lt. Jonathan Lindley – Operations D-Shift Commander, DPD;
Lt. Selby DeLeon – Professions Standards Supervisor, DPD;
Lt. Kirk Arrington – Vice and Narcotics Unit Supervisor, DPD;
Lt. Jeff Clem – Operations B-Shift Commander, DPD;
Lt James Harton – Operations C-Shift Commander, DPD;
Lt. Chris Moffett – Operations A-Shift Commander, DPD;
Lt. Jon Sharp – Training Department Supervisor, DPD;
Hunter Pepper – Decatur City Council;
James Marquette;
Jamie King – SBI; credited as the lead investigator in the Perkins shooting;
Jason Peek – SBI;
Director Chris Inabinett – Director of SBI;
The gag order hearing comes after months of public demonstrations and media coverage following Perkins’ death. Those demonstrations included calls for change in the DPD and the release of body camera footage from the night of the shooting.
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ALEA investigated the Perkins shooting before handing over its findings to the Morgan County DA’s office.
News 19 asked ALEA if they had released the video and a spokesperson said they did not. The agency has also denied News 19’s request for access to the video. News 19 does not have the rights to air the video.
Councilman Pepper told News 19’s Archie Snowden Monday evening that he is aware of the subpoena but could not comment further. He said he plans to attend the hearing along with his attorney.
The prosecution and defense are under the current gag order. It is not clear if the listed witnesses will be asked about how the Marquette body cam footage was released.
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