Murder charges against 1 of 3 men accused of killing NSU student withdrawn for lack of evidence

NORFOLK — Murder charges against a former college football player accused of killing a Norfolk State University student last year were withdrawn Wednesday after a prosecutor said the evidence against him was insufficient to move forward.

Marquas Gregg, 21, had been charged with second-degree murder, conspiracy and using a firearm to commit a felony in the Sept. 2 death of Jahari George.

George, a junior engineering student from Maryland, was shot once in the head while sitting in his car outside his dorm. Police and prosecutors have said he was an innocent bystander.

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The 20-year-old was a presidential scholar and part of the Robert C. Nusbaum Honors College, according to NSU. He also was involved in a number of organizations and activities and held a leadership role in many of them.

Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said after the hearing that the evidence indicated Gregg was at the scene when the shooting took place but there wasn’t much more than that against him.

“Presence alone is not sufficient to prove that Mr. Gregg shared the other individuals’ criminal intent, and so there was not sufficient evidence to prove that Mr. Gregg was criminally responsible for the offense,” Fatehi said. “Ethically, we had no choice but to dismiss the case.”

Gregg is a resident of Portsmouth and was a football player at Virginia Union University in Richmond when he was arrested Nov. 30, according to court records. He’s been held without bond at the city jail since then but was expected to be released soon.

A woman in the courtroom Wednesday shrieked with joy when District Judge Bruce Wilcox agreed to grant Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Anthony Comento’s motion to withdraw the charges.

Gregg’s co-defendants in the case, Camari Warren and Cameron Brown, also of Portsmouth, are still facing charges. Both are scheduled for a preliminary hearing in May.

Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com