Police say accused gunman is law grad

Man involved in standoff just took the Florida Bar exam

Raymond Marshall graduated from law school last year and took the Florida Bar exam last week in hopes of becoming a lawyer.

But that seemingly bright future may be in doubt when, hours after completing the exam, he allegedly threatened to kill his girlfriend and barricaded himself inside a home for seven hours Feb. 23 with the Orlando Police SWAT team positioned outside.

He surrendered without incident and is charged with domestic violence aggravated assault.

Even if he passed the exam, he could have trouble becoming a lawyer.

According to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, applicants must “produce satisfactory evidence of good moral character.” Applicants convicted of felonies can not be admitted to the bar until their civil rights are restored.

Classmates are shocked about the incident and say the 30-year-old Marshall is a good guy.

His lawyer, John Sirounis, said his client will definitely have hurdles to overcome, but it doesn’t necessarily end his path to becoming a lawyer because he will have a chance to explain his actions in front of the board.

Sirounis said Marshall was under “severe stress and severe insomnia” because of the test.

“He was taking a very strenuous test and he was definitely under severe pressure,” the lawyer said. “It is something that would probably have contributed to how he was feeling that night.”

According to police, Marshall was driving back to Orlando after taking the bar exam on Wednesday in Tampa, when he became irritated with his girlfriend.

The woman told police he threatened her, saying, “I’ll kill you in your sleep.”

When the woman told the May 2016 Barry Law School graduate that his comment was inappropriate, he said “I just might do it,” police wrote in his arrest affidavit.

Marshall returned home about 11 p.m. He left and came back a few hours later and was intoxicated.

He started playing loud music and she came out to ask him to turn it down.

“This appeared to agitate Marshall and he threw the HDMI cables around and broke the blinds in the window,” the report said. “Marshall then punched the glass top stove, causing it to break and continued to throw various items around the residence.”

Police say he threatened her again, saying he would burn the house down with her inside.

He also had a gun in his hand, but didn’t point it at her, police said.

His lawyer said he doesn’t believe the woman was in imminent danger.

She grabbed their baby and drove to her father’s house in Brevard County. Her father then called police.

When officers got to the condo at Villas of Costa Del Sol in the 1100 block of Soria Avenue around 6:30 a.m. Thursday, Marshall refused to come out and barricaded himself inside during a seven-hour standoff.

There was a heavy police presence, with some streets blocked off.

The police department’s Crisis Negotiation Team, SWAT teams and the mobile command center were all called in.

He came out around 2:30 p.m. and was taken to the Orange County Jail; he has since bonded out.

The home is now boarded up and pieces of the garage door are strewn across the yard. The incident caused quite a stir in the usually quiet neighborhood.

Neighbor Jean Rivera said the couple moved into the home a few months ago and had a baby shortly after. She talked to them a couple times.

“He seemed like a nice person,” she said, “They seemed like a normal couple.”

Neighbor Tiffany Rispoli said she had just returned home from taking her husband to work when she saw officers behind a car, with their guns pointed at the home.

She went inside, and a few minutes later, officers came and evacuated her and a neighbor.

It forced her to miss work and her daughter to miss school. She spent the day outside in her pajamas as she waited to be allowed back into her home “It was pretty nuts,” she said. Marshall could not be reached for comment.

Orange County court records show he pleaded no contest to a 2007 charge of carrying a concealed weapon, but he was not formally convicted.

The condos are just off Semoran Boulevard near La Costa Boulevard in south Orlando.