Macon man convicted in Halloween 2017 shooting of friend who took his PlayStation 4
A 28-year-old Macon man accused of murdering a transgender woman on Halloween 2017 was convicted Thursday of shooting and seriously wounding a man hours later that same day.
Horace Jamal “Urk” Marsh was sentenced to 25 years in prison after Bibb County jurors deliberated for about half an hour and found him guilty in the Oct. 31, 2017, shooting that left then-22-year-old Kibwe Steed clinging to life.
Steed, now 27, survived .40-caliber gunshot wounds to his face and stomach and this week appeared in court to testify against Marsh.
Steed took the witness stand Wednesday and told jurors that Marsh was the man who nearly killed him in an apparent surprise assault at the door of the Houston Road apartment where Steed lived with his mother and siblings.
Testimony at the three-day trial revealed that Steed, in the months prior to the shooting, had taken some cash and a PlayStation 4 from Marsh, and that the pair had participated in a burglary together.
During Thursday’s sentencing as Marsh stood before Judge Howard Z. Simms, the judge told Marsh that he had no idea what had compelled Marsh to shoot Steed.
“But I can promise you,” the judge said, “it wasn’t worth what’s about to happen.”
Marsh was then sentenced to 20 years behind bars for aggravated assault and five additional years on a pair of gun-possession charges. He is awaiting trial on a murder charge.
The lean, 6-foot-tall Marsh, known by the nickname “Urk” because of his resemblance to the nerdy character Steve Urkel on the ‘90s television sitcom “Family Matters,” was arrested in the month’s after Steed’s shooting.
A Byron police officer stopped Marsh for speeding, doing 95 mph on Interstate 75. According to investigators, a gun found in the trunk of Marsh’s Toyota Camry was soon analyzed and connected to the shell casings found at the scene of Steed’s shooting.
Then in July 2020 Marsh was charged with murder in the shooting death of Candace Towns, a 30-year-old transgender woman found along Rosecrest Avenue on the southern edge of downtown Macon the afternoon of Oct. 31, 2017.
Police have said that the same .40-caliber pistol used to shoot Steed hours later is linked to Towns’ slaying.
Before Thursday’s sentencing, Steed addressed the court to tell of the hardship he has endured since he was shot by Marsh, a former friend he met when the pair worked at Walmart.
Steed said he forgives Marsh.
“I’m just glad we got justice,” Steed said, adding that he will no longer have to look over his shoulder in fear that Marsh might be there. “I ain’t mad or nothing. .. I’m just glad it’s over with and I won’t have to think about it no more.”
Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report.
This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 4:25 PM.