Marquise Williams, a 23-year-old Black male from Philadelphia’s Mantua neighborhood, was killed on the afternoon of February 11, 2014, near the corner of 40th and Poplar streets in West Philadelphia. The shooting happened outside the H&H Daycare and Learning Center, a place that served families from Mantua and nearby Mill Creek. It was around 3:45 p.m. when gunfire broke out in the street, while about 40 children were inside the daycare building.
None of the children were injured, but Williams was fatally shot, and another man was wounded.
The events leading up to Williams’ death began inside a corner store near 40th and Poplar. According to later court records, Shane Payne and Erick Roseborough had arrived at that corner before Williams appeared. Williams went into the store, and Payne followed him inside. When Williams tried to leave, Payne blocked his path, and the two men became involved in a heated confrontation. During that exchange, Payne lifted his shirt and revealed that he had a. 45-caliber handgun.
After Payne and Roseborough left the store, Williams moved toward the rear of the market and called his friend, Antoine Ball. Ball arrived soon afterward. Williams, now armed, left the store with Ball and walked down 40th Street. Payne then returned to the store, looked around quickly, realized Williams was no longer there, and went back outside in the same direction Williams and Ball had gone.
The confrontation continued outside. Court records describe Roseborough throwing a punch at Williams. Payne drew his gun, and Williams also pulled a gun. Williams fired two shots from a. 357 handgun, striking Roseborough once in the leg. Payne, armed with the. 45-caliber handgun, fired five shots. Williams was struck twice, including a fatal shot to the center of his forehead. The sudden violence left Williams dead in the street and Roseborough wounded, while the daycare nearby became part of the frightening backdrop to the shooting.
Payne was arrested about a week after the killing. He was charged with third-degree murder, possession of an instrument of crime, multiple firearms violations, and recklessly endangering another person. At trial, Payne argued that he acted in self-defense, saying he fired only after Williams shot Roseborough. Prosecutors countered that Payne had provoked the confrontation by threatening Williams with a gun inside the store, then following him outside and continuing the encounter instead of retreating.
In December 2015, after a bench trial, Payne was found guilty. The court reduced the murder charge, convicting him of voluntary manslaughter rather than third-degree murder, along with possession of an instrument of crime, firearms offenses, and recklessly endangering another person. On February 19, 2016, Payne was sentenced to 16 and a half to 33 years in prison. He appealed, continuing to argue that the prosecution had failed to disprove self-defense, but the Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected that argument in 2017 and affirmed the judgment. The appellate court concluded that Payne was not free from fault in provoking the encounter that led to Williams’ death.
