On a summer evening in Montgomery, Alabama, the life of Sylvester Morris, a 32-year-old Black/African American man, was cut short. On June 28, 2015, Morris, a local rapper also known by his stage name "Fathead," was shot and killed. The incident occurred on Berkley Drive, where Morris was attending a party. An altercation broke out while Morris was in his car, and he was shot once in the heart during what authorities believe was a robbery attempt.
He was rushed to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries later that night.
The investigation into Morris's death led Montgomery police to identify Marquise Deshawn Flynn as a person of interest. A little over a week after the shooting, on July 9, 2015, Flynn turned himself in to his probation officer and was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals. He was subsequently charged with capital murder in connection with the shooting death of Sylvester Morris. Following his arrest, Flynn was held in the Montgomery County jail without bond.
In July 2018, a grand jury indicted Marquise Deshawn Flynn on two counts of capital murder. One count was for intentionally causing the death of Sylvester Morris by shooting him with a gun while Morris was in a vehicle, and the other was for causing his death during the commission of a first-degree robbery. Flynn's trial began in February 2020. During the trial, a witness testified to seeing Flynn shoot Morris. Another witness, Flynn's cousin, testified that Flynn had admitted to shooting Morris because Morris had "tried him."
Ultimately, the jury convicted Flynn of the capital murder charge for shooting Morris while he was in a vehicle. The court dismissed the charge related to the robbery. Marquise Deshawn Flynn was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Sylvester Morris.
