Man pleads not guilty in potential death penalty case
A former Zion man could face the death penalty if convicted in a 2004 double shooting in which the second victim died earlier this year.
Marcus Brown, 23, who has been held on $6 million bond since just after the Oct. 24, 2004, incident, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to upgraded charges in the death of Sabina Gully of North Chicago. He now faces two counts of first-degree murder.
Assistant State's Attorney Bolling Haxall said Gully, 27, and Remorrian Gordon, 23, were both shot by Brown during a confrontation in a North Chicago alley. Police said Brown told them Gordon and Gully, then 22, were in a car driven by Gordon that Brown believed came too close to him.
Gordon, who was shot three times, died on the day of the shooting, but Gully, who was shot once below the right eye, was left paralyzed from the neck down.
She died July 27 in a nursing home, and officials ruled her death was a direct result of the gunshot wound.
Police said Brown, who was arrested a few days after the shootings, was caught with a gun they have matched to bullets taken from Gordon's body. Brown is yet to be tried in the case because of changes in attorneys and other delays.
Associate Judge Theodore Potkonjak told Brown that because he is charged with murdering two people, he is now eligible for sentences of death or life in prison.
In addition, Potkonjak said, Brown is eligible to be sentenced to a term between 45 years and life in prison because the murders were committed with a gun.
Haxall said State's Attorney Michael Waller will decide if capital punishment will be sought in Brown's case after reviewing all the facts of the case and Brown's background.
Assistant Public Defender Martin Shaffer told Potkonjak he would waive the 120-day time limit for Waller to make that decision so that he could gather mitigating evidence for his argument against pursuing the death penalty.
Potkonjak ordered the parties to return to court Jan. 22 for a status report on the penalty deliberations.