On June 9, 2023, 25-year-old Mark Anthony Carlisle was fatally shot near the Cincinnati Entertainment District in El Paso, Texas. The incident occurred around 2:18 a.m. in the parking lot of the Corralito Restaurant on North Mesa Street. Carlisle was walking to his vehicle with two companions after leaving the area when they were confronted by two masked individuals. One of the assailants, identified as 20-year-old Madoc Gaither, was armed.
As Carlisle and his companions attempted to flee, Gaither pursued and shot Carlisle multiple times. Emergency responders transported Carlisle to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Surveillance footage from the vicinity captured the suspects arriving in a silver vehicle and donning face coverings before approaching Carlisle and his friends. The driver, later identified as 18-year-old Levi Merridith Hemley, wore a white T-shirt with a distinctive Tommy Hilfiger logo and a black balaclava mask. Gaither, the passenger, was seen holding a firearm. After the shooting, both suspects fled the scene, with Gaither losing his white tennis shoes during the escape. Further investigation revealed that Gaither sent a text message shortly after the incident, indicating an urgent need to leave El Paso.
Law enforcement officials arrested Gaither and Hemley on June 23, 2023. Gaither was apprehended by the El Paso Police Department's Gang Unit at the 900 block of North Zaragoza and charged with murder, with his bond set at $1.5 million. Hemley was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force at the same location. He faced charges of murder, with a $1 million bond, and evading arrest, with an additional $1,500 bond, after allegedly attempting to flee from officers. Both suspects were booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility. At Hemley's bond hearing, the judge reduced his bond for the murder charge to $750,000 but denied lowering the bond for the evading arrest charge.
The investigation into Carlisle's death uncovered that both suspects had been inside PROFE Cantina on the night of the shooting. Hemley was seen wearing the same distinctive clothing captured in the surveillance footage. Additionally, Gaither had a prior arrest in July 2022 for a shooting at a house party in far East El Paso, where he and two others allegedly fired multiple rounds at guests, injuring four individuals. This incident was deemed a random act of violence, and Gaither was charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
As of December 2024, both Gaither and Hemley remain in custody, awaiting trial for the murder of Mark Anthony Carlisle. The case has drawn significant attention due to the violent nature of the crime and the prior criminal history of the suspects. The community continues to mourn the loss of Carlisle, with family and friends remembering him through various memorials and tributes.
