Oct. 12—A witness to an Aug. 29 shooting outside Big Lots in Decatur that left accused shooter Marcus Fuller’s wife dead and a man in critical condition said Fuller’s wife was the male victim’s “sugar mama,” according to testimony from a Decatur police detective.
Fuller, 52, of Decatur, was charged with capital murder in connection with the incident. He appeared for a preliminary hearing before District Judge Shelly Waters on Tuesday. Carl Cole, an attorney, represented Fuller. Assistant District Attorney Garrick Vickery called Decatur Police Detective Jasmin Ferizovic as the only witness.
Ferizovic stated that Decatur police responded to the incident at 1820 Sixth Ave. S.E. around 4:21 p.m.
Officers located a guy and a woman with several gunshot wounds inside a Porsche Cayenne. The woman died on the scene and was eventually identified as Fuller’s wife, Yvette Fuller, according to Ferizovic.
The male victim, discovered in the vehicle’s passenger side, informed authorities that a black Chevy pickup drove up next to them and began fire. According to testimony, the guy was first taken to Decatur Morgan Hospital, then to Huntsville Hospital, and eventually to UAB Hospital, where he remained in critical condition Tuesday.
Decatur police gathered written testimonies from several witnesses near the site. The male victim was driven to the shopping mall by a friend “to meet his sugar mama for some money,” according to Ferizovic.
According to evidence, the male victim remained inside the Porsche for about three minutes before a newer Chevy Silverado drew up next it, at which point the companion heard seven to eight gunshots. The companion said that the vehicle left the scene and drove north on Sixth Avenue, and that the driver was a bald, heavyset Black male.
“He claimed that (the male victim) never did anything with the female,” said Ferizovic. The male victim would allegedly “sweet talk” Yvette Fuller in exchange for money.
Two people from the neighboring Metro by T-Mobile store also provided written statements. According to evidence, one witness claimed seeing a huge Black man in gym shorts brandishing a weapon on the passenger side of the Porsche.
Witnesses reported that a “hysterical” woman entered the store and inquired about the shooter’s arrival in a black truck. The woman said the female victim was her sister-in-law, and the black truck belonged to her brother, according to Ferizovic. She stated that her brother and the victim had been married for thirty years.
According to Ferizovic, some of the victims’ families appeared on the scene immediately after, as did members of the general public. “There were about a hundred people outside the crime scene tape,” he informed me.
One family member shared Ferizovic text messages she received from Fuller following the shooting.
According to Ferizovic, Fuller sent a message at 5:43 p.m. that read, “Pray for the kids.”
Fuller’s family member responded by asking him to surrender himself in. According to Ferizovic, Fuller said, “I am. I need some time to reflect alone before I go in.”
According to Ferizovic, authorities were able to trace Fuller’s phone to Point Mallard Campground. A family member told investigators that Fuller had been residing in an RV. Ferizovic stated that authorities were summoned to the campsite and found the RV but not Fuller.
Around this time, the Decatur Police Department’s front desk received a phone call from a man who informed them that Fuller “said that he had killed ‘Vette… and the guy she was fooling around with,” according to Ferizovic.
Ferizovic stated that authorities discovered security video from a neighbor at the campground that showed Fuller coming at his RV 20 to 30 minutes after the incident. According to Ferizovic, investigators performed a search warrant on the RV and confiscated a cellphone, a 9 mm weapon, as well as shorts and a blouse with apparent blood on them.
Fuller surrendered himself to Decatur police around 10 p.m. the night of the incident. Meanwhile, according to Ferizovic, police resumed their search for Fuller’s truck by collecting security footage from ten nearby businesses along the route. They discovered it on Church Street on September 3. Ferizovic stated that the shooting itself was not captured on security video.
According to Ferizovic, investigators discovered a “bloodlike substance” on the truck’s driver’s side door, as well as a fired round with “correlation” to eight spent rounds recovered from the shooting scene.
Cole inquired about Fuller’s actions before to the shooting. Ferizovic stated that evidence was still being collected and that some rumors had yet to be validated. He indicated that the male victim claimed he did not know Fuller.
Cole suggested Ferizovic expound on the “word on the street.” According to Ferizovic, Marcus Fuller and the male victim were reported to be “maybe intimately involved.”
Cole assured Waters that Fuller poses no threat to the community as a whole and that he has “significant and deep ties to the community.”
“I believe he’s entitled to some sort of bond,” he told me.
Vickery disagreed, noting that Fuller had already been convicted of assault more than 20 years before.
“I’m not going to grant him a bond,” Waters stated. “The Circuit Court might. At this time, I don’t believe it’s a safe bet.”
Waters concluded probable cause that Fuller committed a felony and referred the case to a grand jury.
