Man pleads not guilty to murder of 19-year-old woman in court
Marquavious Spearman pleaded not guilty in court Tuesday morning to the murder of 19-year-old Neveah Nevels.
He was arrested in Russell County, Alabama, on Sunday, and was transported to the Muscogee County Jail according to a news release by the Columbus Police Department.
Spearman faces one count of murder, one count of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
He is accused of killing Nevels, who was pronounced dead on the scene, and injuring a second woman who was taken to Piedmont Hospital in critical condition, according to the CPD news release.
Spearman pleaded not guilty to all three counts in his first court appearance, and will be represented by a public defender.
Detective Kevin Baldwin testified in court that multiple witnesses saw a blue Ford Mustang, registered to Spearman, leave the area near Wild Bill’s Jewelry and Pawn on Buena Vista Road on Aug. 8. Body camera footage from an officer who arrived on the scene showed the second injured victim stating “Nevels’ baby daddy shot them,” Baldwin said.
Spearman and an unidentified man exchanged text messages threatening physical violence towards each other before the incident, Baldwin testified. After Nevels was killed, Spearman texted the other man and told him she was dead, Baldwin said.
When investigators interviewed Spearman, he stated someone shot at him first, but did not state why he didn’t report this alleged shooting.
One witness and the surviving injured victim identified Spearman as the shooter, Baldwin said, and there is body cam footage from law enforcement and video from Wild Bill’s Jewelry and Pawn. However, the video from the pawn shop does not show the actual shooting, he said, but the grainy footage showed two cars – one of them in the parking lot where Nevels was shot.
Spearman was not seen on the video, Baldwin testified.
No bond was set in court on Tuesday, and the case will go to Superior Court.
