Repeat offender indicted on murder charges for the second time in Brockton
BROCKTON — Two men have been indicted for their alleged roles in the fatal shooting of 35-year-old Marvin Hill in Brockton last December, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said.
On Wednesday, a Plymouth County grand jury returned indictments charging Donta Hood, 33, with one count each of murder, possession of a firearm without a license as an armed career criminal, carrying a loaded firearm as a subsequent offender and armed career criminal, carrying a firearm without a license and discharging a weapon within 500 feet of a building.
Hood is currently being held without bail and will be arraigned in Brockton Superior Court at a later date.
The fatal shooting of Marvin Hill: Brockton man, 35, dies in hospital after Tuesday shooting
Leon Shelby, 34, was also indicted on one count of accessory after the fact of murder.
The same day the indictments were returned, an arrest warrant was issued for Shelby. Court records do not indicate that Shelby had been arrested as of Friday.
The fatal shooting of Marvin Hill: What happened?
The fatal shooting occurred on Dec. 5, 2023, at approximately 6:17 p.m. in the vicinity of 28 Lexington St. and Green Street in Brockton, Cruz said.
"Upon arrival, first responders located a male suffering from an apparent gunshot wound," the DA's office said in a written statement.
The victim, later identified as Hill, was taken by ambulance to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, then flown by medical helicopter to Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, where he later died.
It is unclear what motives were at play in Hill's murder.
Suspects implicated after investigation
Brockton police contacted Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Plymouth County DA's office and a joint investigation began.
"As a result, on December 8, investigators sought and obtained an arrest warrant for Hood," the Plymouth County DA's office said in a written statement. "Massachusetts State Police have been actively searching for Hood since that date."
Massachusetts State Police located and arrested Hood on Dec. 20, 2023, at his home in Assonet, located in Bristol County.
Shortly after his apprehension, Hood pleaded not guilty to the murder charges at his arraignment in Brockton District Court.
Repeat offender
According to a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Correction, Hood had been sentenced to nine years in prison for his involvement in the 2013 murder of Charles “Church” Evans in Brockton. He was charged of involuntary manslaughter, illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of a loaded firearm in 2021.
Why was he released? Brockton man released from prison 4 months after 9-year sentence faces new murder charge
He was released after only four months after receiving credit for time previously served in custody. He was originally convicted of the manslaughter charge in 2016 but won on an appeal.
The Plymouth County DA's office planned to retry Hood on the charges, but he decided to plead guilty on Sept. 27, 2021. He was then sentenced on Oct. 12, 2021, and released four months later.
Six months before Evans' murder, Hood had been behind bars due to a 2009 drug conviction for dealing cocaine in Brockton but was freed from prison in the wake of the Annie Dookhan state drug lab scandal in 2012.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Donta Hood indicted on murder charge for fatal Brockton shooting
