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City police Detective Wayne Hunnicutt searches for evidence after Forest Village slaying in 2007.
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BY KEITH EPPS
A man who was recently sentenced to 38 years in prison for killing a man at a Fredericksburg nightclub is now accused of another slaying.
Brandon Lee Smith, 21, was indicted by a Fredericksburg grand jury Monday on charges of first-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Smith is accused of killing 24-year-old Marlo McQuillar on July 27, 2007, in the parking lot at the Forest Village apartment complex.
The McQuillar slaying took place about six months before 30-year-old Dasan Richardson was shot and killed at Mi Casa Restaurant in Central Park.
Including the Richardson case, Smith now has 18 criminal convictions.
According to testimony at Smith's trial, Richardson was one of several people providing security at a hip-hop event.
Smith and his friends were initially denied entrance to the event because of past problems, but he later sneaked inside.
Two security workers--not Richardson--forcibly removed Smith from the club. One of them put Smith in a "sleeper hold" that left him briefly unconscious on the sidewalk.
Prosecutor Travis Bird told the jury that Smith retrieved his gun and returned to the club because "he was upset and embarrassed about being punked out in front of his friends."
Richardson was shot in the ensuing altercation. Smith testified that he didn't intend to shoot Richardson, but the gun went off while he was scuffling with other security workers.
Smith got a 38-year prison term in July for the Richardson slaying.
The motive for the McQuillar slaying remained unclear last night.
Police said that late July 27, 2007, McQuillar had just gotten off work at Bob Evans restaurant and was at the complex to pick up his child, who was being kept by his sister.
A resident reported hearing multiple gunshots and said he saw three males running to a car that left at a high rate of speed.
McQuillar was found bleeding in front of the 1200 building. He died before reaching the hospital.
McQuillar had been a key prosecution witness in the 2006 trials of Joni R. "Summa" Grizzard and Samuel T. "Capone" Ensley in Stafford Circuit Court.
They headed an operation that brought several kilos of cocaine per month into the Fredericksburg area, along with marijuana and Ecstasy.
McQuillar sold drugs for the operation and testified for the prosecution after his arrest.
There was speculation at the time that McQuillar's testimony had something to do with the shooting.
Several area narcotics officers said some of their informants stopped cooperating, at least temporarily, following the McQuillar shooting.
But police yesterday said nothing that tied McQuillar's death to his testimony.
Fredericksburg detective Tim Garrett was the lead investigator in the McQuillar case. He was assisted by the FBI and the Westmoreland Sheriff's Office, city police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said.
Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com
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Marlo McQuiller: Marlo David McQuillar, 24, was found dead at the Forest Village Apartments shortly before midnight, July 28, 2007. In 2006, he testified in Stafford County for the prosecution in the trials of Joni R. "Summa" Grizzard and Samuel T. "Capone" Ensley, who were convicted of dealing drugs. Brandon Lee Smith was indicted today in this slaying. Smith is already serving a sentence for another murder.
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Dasan Richardson: Dasan Ka'Wila Richardson was working as a security guard at the Mi Casa Restaurant. He was shot twice in the chest during an altercation at the front door of the restaurant about 1:15 a.m. January 12, 2008. Brandon Lee Smith was convicted in his murder and sentenced to 38 years in prison. |
