Texarkana Gazette

Trial ongoing for man accused of killing over parking spot

Prosecutor: Slaying was ‘senseless’; Stanton’s lawyer: It was self-defense

- By Lynn LaRowe

The third day of testimony is expected to begin Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of fatally shooting another over a parking spot in September 2015.

Marvin Arrell Stanton was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in the death of Jesse Hamilton, 22, following a trial in 2016. An Arkansas appellate court reversed Stanton’s conviction and sent the case back to Miller County circuit court for a new trial.

A second attempt to resolve the case in August 2018 ended with Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson declaring a mistrial. Monday, a jury of nine women and three men was chosen to hear the case.

Jurors this week have heard Prosecutin­g Attorney Stephanie Potter Barrett describe Hamilton’s death as a “senseless” killing that began when Stanton demanded Hamilton move his truck from an area in the parking lot of the Raceway gas station where Stanton liked to park. They

heard Little Rock defense lawyer Natalie Dixon frame the shooting as self-defense and a reasonable response to the circumstan­ces.

Testimony from lay witnesses who were at the scene, accounts from law enforcemen­t, findings of a firearms expert and opinions from the medical examiner have been heard, under questionin­g by Barrett, Dixon, Rosenzweig and Deputy Prosecutin­g Attorney David Cotton.

Once both sides have rested, the jury will be given instructio­ns on the law they must follow before deliberati­ng on Stanton’s case. Should they convict, the trial will enter a punishment phase.

Stanton faces 10 to 40 years or life in prison if found guilty.

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