Texas man acquitted of murder in 2020 Wichita little league football game shooting
A Sedgwick County jury on Tuesday acquitted a Texas man of murder in the 2020 shooting death of a 31-year-old Wichita man during a fight at a youth football game held at Stryker Sports Complex, 2999 N. Greenwich, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
Jurors found Maurice Antonio Hall, 28, not guilty of first-degree premeditated murder in the Oct. 21, 2020, killing of Marquell “Marky” Nolen following more than five hours of deliberations, said Dan Dillon, a spokesman for DA Marc Bennett.
The verdict came after 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dillon said.
The jury did find Hall guilty of one count of criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, he said. Hall will be sentenced by Judge Tyler Roush on that charge on Oct. 5, court records show.
Hall’s trial started Aug. 1.
Police have said Hall shot Nolen during an argument that happened inside the entrance gate of the sports complex to the west of the stadium during a little-league football game for 12-year-olds. Testimony from a hearing last year that was summarized in court records says the fight was over Hall’s apparent lack of involvement with his children, although the defense has disagreed with that account, saying it’s unclear what precipitated the argument between old friends who’d had a falling out.
Nolen, the court records say, “was upset” with Hall for “not taking part in his children’s lives,” creating tension between the men who reportedly have kids with the same woman.
Police have said Hall pulled a handgun during the fight and fired several shots, which hit Nolen in the torso. He died at Wesley Medical Center.
Hall fled after the shooting and was arrested several days later during a car stop in downtown Wichita as he was headed to his lawyer’s office to arrange his surrender after learning he was wanted by police.
He argued throughout the case that he was not guilty of murder and shot Nolen in self defense, court records show.
Hall’s defense attorney, Richard Ney, on Wednesday declined to comment on the verdict but reiterated that the shooting was a “self-defense situation” and that jurors also chose to not convict Hall of any lesser homicide charges, including voluntary and involuntary manslaughter.
Bennett, the district attorney, said by email Wednesday that his office respects the jury’s verdict.
““This was a self-defense case. I appreciate the work of law enforcement, the testimony of the witnesses, the effort of our attorneys and the work of the jury to consider the totality of the evidence,” he wrote.
