During the homicide investigation of Arizona State University student Zachary Marco, his father, Daniel Marco, who is a criminal defense attorney, said that if there were two or more people involved, he would help provide the best legal defense possible to the one who came forward.
But on Tuesday, Marco, who lives in Mesa, said that deal now is "off the table."
Tempe police on Tuesday announced the arrests of two men they say are connected to the shooting death of Marco, a 21-year-old ASU student who police say was killed for his laptop computer and a cell phone last month.
On Wednesday, police said a third man also has been arrested.
About 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 17, Marco was walking home when police believe he was shot while defending his property during a robbery in the 1100 block of East University Drive. Cmdr. Kim Hale, head of investigations for the Tempe Police Department, said Marco died at the scene. Witnesses had said they saw two black males running after Marco was shot.
Louis Eugene Harper, 20, was arrested two weeks ago at his Tempe home north of Broadway Road on suspicion of forgery offenses in an unrelated matter. Marion Anthony Patterson III, 17, was arrested Monday night in south Tempe after a brief foot chase. Police say Harper is the one who pulled the trigger and that both men were in the neighborhood that night looking for someone to rob. Investigators said Marco was minding his own business and was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
During Tuesday's press conference, Tempe police said Harper and Patterson were the only ones involved and there were no other suspects.
However, on Wednesday, Tempe police said that three arrests had been made in connection to Marco's death, but were not releasing the third person's name, citing concerns for his safety.
Both Harper and Patterson face charges of first-degree murder and armed robbery. Both men also are known gang members and both have criminal histories, according to police.
After executing search warrants, police confiscated cell phones containing text messages in which the two men discussed robberies they had committed, police said.
Then, on Oct. 29, detectives recovered Marco's computer bag and found fingerprints from both Harper and Patterson, police said. Citizens came forward and alerted police to the evidence, but police would not say where the bag was recovered.
"My son's life was taken for nothing," said Daniel Marco, who became emotional during a news conference also attended by Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman and Tempe Police Chief Tom Ryff. "The items they took were worth nothing. No one came forward, so the deal I had is off the table. To the young men who did this, I told you so. Now, I remain resolved like the police to see to it that you spend the rest of your days in prison and all that that comes with it."
Marco's father had first thanked police for their diligence in investigating the crime.
"We never wavered in our support of this investigation," he said. "I knew this day would come - I didn't think it would happen this quick. It was an amazing investigation. Now, when people recognize me on the street, they don't recognize me as the father whose son was killed, they recognize me as the father whose son was killed for a laptop and a cell phone. There's a lot of work to be done. There will never be closure. If it were a wound, it would be a wound that would never heal. It's raw."
Marco, who was a junior honors student at ASU, was taking political science classes and planned to follow in his family's footsteps and practice law. He was selected for a second round of interviews among 50 applicants to be an intern with the U.S. Senate after the selection process was pared down from 300.
Hale said Tuesday that when investigators looked over a few items of evidence that were of very little value that someone was killed for, they knew that they had to solve the murder.
"That kept us going," said Hale, who added there is still a lot of work to be done in the investigation. "This is just the beginning."
Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman, who also spoke during the press conference, was quick to say that observant neighbors and friends are part of the solution to helping prevent or solve such crimes.
"Police talk about months of the investigation, but it was four weeks," Hallman said. "It only seemed like months."
The news of the arrests come a day before Marco's family, friends and some of his ASU instructors will hold a vigil from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday in the courtyard of ASU's Barrett Honors College, 751 E. Lemon Street, between Apache Trail and University Drive, marking the first month since Marco's death. His younger sister, Michelle, 15, will perform a song she composed for her brother. The Marco family is organizing a foundation for college students who plan to enter the legal profession or politics as well as to help people who need help paying for funeral expenses for a loved one who is killed in a tragedy.
Daniel Marco also said when he offered to help the person with the best legal defense for turning in the person responsible for his son's death, he received a lot criticism.
"I just had something to say about that," Marco said. "That was my son."
chick posted at 5:06 pm on Tue, Nov 16, 2010.
Disgusting Vermin. May they rot in Hell.
PeacefulCat posted at 5:58 pm on Tue, Nov 16, 2010.
May this type of senseless violence stop.
madblogger posted at 9:46 pm on Tue, Nov 16, 2010.
No surprise here. Their parents must be so proud. Way to fit a stereotype. Enjoy prison, losers !
angryivan posted at 11:53 pm on Tue, Nov 16, 2010.
Society has a serious problem when 2/3rds of black children are born to single mothers and a huge percentage of black males are in prison. The website sentencingproject dot org says 1 in 8 black males are in prison on any given day, and if current trends continue, 1 in 3 black males will serve out a prison sentence sometime during their lives. That doesn't even include those on probation or parole at any given time.
For the past few decades, it had less to do with prejudice and more to do with fatherless homes. What was the percentage of black males in jail during the 50's, 60's & 70's when prejudice was more likely to be a bigger reason for incarceration? I bet they were much lower percentage-wise.
Expanding welfare benefits have made the black father practically unnecessary. And if a black child tries to do their best in school they are mocked for acting "white". Bill Cosby tried to address these problems in a speech years ago - and he took a lot of heat from so-called black leaders at the time.
I hope the mothers of these two wastes of skin didn't give birth to any other children that lived. They don't deserve any more after these two turned out like they did. If they committed cold blooded murder they deserve the death penalty or at minimum life in prison. I wish I had something better to say but I don't.
DrunkenMonkey posted at 6:11 am on Wed, Nov 17, 2010.
Sorry, but this is not a black issue. This is an issue of the people. We the people have allowed the few "human rights" advocates to take the fear out of prisons. There is no fear of a horrifying public death.
Criminals know that life sentences no longer mean "life". They are allowed "deals" and "plea agreements" to either rat out someone else or become snitches.
Over crowding means early release. (Ask the starlets that get hours in jail, instead of months). Money talks... you can afford a good lawyer, you get a better deal.
Death Row means life. It rarely means death anymore. There's always some way to appeal. Look at the arguments now about the "lethal injection" drug.
I believe Death Row should be quick, and the death should be as terrifying as possible.
Put fear back into going to prison, let the whiner's whine...
Masterrogue666 posted at 6:23 am on Wed, Nov 17, 2010.
Sad, I'm not sure what happened, or if the victim would still be alive if he just gave them his computer. You life is more valuable. In any event, I hope the scum that ended the life of a human being for nothing more than a computer receives the same...
DrunkenMonkey posted at 6:39 am on Wed, Nov 17, 2010.
WOW! I guess EVT is really getting paranoid... There were like 10 comments here when I began writing my comments. I guess since they were considered "racial comments". I didn't see it that way (except one) but hey... who's got the right to free speech anymore anyway?
Guess you have to go to AZ Republic for that...
DrunkenMonkey posted at 6:54 am on Wed, Nov 17, 2010.
They're really messing this up... they omitted my first comment and posted the second one twice...
who's running this place???
chick posted at 10:55 am on Wed, Nov 17, 2010.
The AZ Republic won't even post the pictures of the vermin nor the name of the "minor" vermin. Of course they won't allow comments either.
Mike1200 posted at 6:33 pm on Wed, Nov 17, 2010.
These pathetic excuses for human beings should get the death penalty. That way they won't be able to commit more crimes or kill again.