A Black man was convicted of murder in the 2014 shooting death of a police officer in a case that raises legal questions about no-knock warrants and the right to self-defense while also highlighting racial disparities in the justice system after a white defendant faced no charges in the killing of a sheriff’s deputy the year before under similar circumstances.
Marvin Guy, who was jailed nearly a decade ago in connection with the murder of detective Charles Dinwiddle, was found guilty on Nov. 21 after continuing to claim he mistook the officer for an intruder during a May 2014 drug raid in which a SWAT team smashed his bedroom window, prompting him to open fire.
The jury, however, did not convict Guy of the more serious charge of capital murder, underscoring a lack of unanimity among the jurors regarding Guy’s awareness that he was shooting at officers at the time of the incident.
His sentencing is scheduled for next week, but he will be spared the death penalty after prosecutors set aside the consideration for capital punishment in an effort to expedite the aging criminal case.
The raid that ensnared Guy stemmed from a no-knock warrant obtained by police based on a tip that alleged Guy’s involvement in cocaine deals, which legally permitted two dozen officers to forcibly enter Guy’s apartment on May 9, 2014.
Due to the warrant, the unit was not required to announce who they were as they tried to breach Guy’s door with a battering ram—however, an obstruction inside prevented officers from immediately gaining entry.
Moments later, one of the deputies accidentally detonated a stun grenade, sparking a boom that awoke Guy in the middle of the night, culminating in a feverish exchange of gunfire.
Living in a high-crime area and hearing no warning from the police outside his door, Guy said he immediately assumed criminals were trying to break into his home after a home invasion just a week before in his neighborhood, in which an intruder crawled through the first-floor window of a woman before assaulting her.
