On the evening of March 30, 2021, a violent confrontation at a duplex in a south Tulsa, Oklahoma, neighborhood ended the life of Marcus Burkes. Mr. Burkes was a 41-year-old Black man. When police responded to reports of a shooting near 65th and Memorial, they found him at the scene with fatal gunshot wounds.
The incident was a double shooting that also left another man, Carlos Edwards, in critical condition. According to authorities, Mr.
Edwards was shot in the lower torso as he tried to run away. He managed to escape to the house next door, where two people were remodeling the property. The gunman reportedly fired at these witnesses as well, but they were not harmed. The suspect then fled before police arrived.
Investigators with the Tulsa Police Department quickly identified a suspect in the case: Esuan Scott, the 20-year-old son of Marcus Burkes. According to an affidavit, Scott went to his father’s home that Tuesday and knocked on the door. He allegedly demanded money that he believed his father owed him. When the demands were not met, he shot and killed his father.
Police stated that the deadly dispute was over money and sneakers. Capt. Richard Muelenberg of the Tulsa Police Department said, "The son was enamored by his father’s sneakers." During the homicide, Scott allegedly took several pairs of his father’s Nike shoes before leaving the scene.
About a week after the shooting, on April 5, 2021, police arrested Esuan Scott. He was booked into the Tulsa County jail on a first-degree murder warrant in connection with his father's death, as well as a robbery charge. His bond was set at $1 million. As of April 2021, the case against him was proceeding through the court system.
