Trial dates set for pair accused in Prattville barbershop massacre

PRATTVILLE — Trial dates have been set for two men facing capital murder charges in a triple homicide that shocked Prattville

Marty Morgan, 36, and Keon Cain, 21, both of Prattville, appeared before Circuit Judge Bill Lewis Jr. in a status hearing Thursday afternoon. Neither man addressed the court. They appeared dressed in blaze orange jumpsuits and were restrained by handcuffs. It was their attorneys who did the talking.

Morgan is represented by Richard Keith and Terry Luck and Cain is represented by Robert Bowers Jr. and Richard Lively. State law demands that defendants in capital cases are represented by two attorneys. Court records show that Lewis has set Morgan’s trial to begin the week of May 7, while Cain’s is set for the week of July 23.

Lewis made his position clear to both defense teams.

“This case is from July 3, 2017, and we have a March 16, 2018 indictment,” he said. “We really need to get this going.”

State law also holds that both men have separate trials. Lewis dealt with about two dozen motions during the hearing. He ruled he wants an amended mental evaluation for Cain, which includes his intelligence quotient. The current mental evaluation on file doesn’t not establish Cain’s IQ.

In a bit of an unusual move, Lewis ruled that press cameras would be allowed in the courtroom. The courthouse in Prattville doesn’t have separate media rooms attached to the courtrooms, and in the past judges haven’t allowed cameras in the courtroom.

“We will have a media plan in place, and I will get with the media before trial to make sure they understand the plan,” Lewis said. “They will be allowed to broadcast occasional video, but no audio. We’re not doing O.J. here.”

He was referring to O.J. Simpson’s murder trial in Los Angeles in the 1990s which was broadcast live.

Capital murder charges are being sought because the killings allegedly occurred in the commission of a robbery and resulted in two or more victims from the same criminal act, the indictments read. The death penalty is on the table, said District Attorney Randall Houston. The only other sentence option in a capital murder conviction is life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Each man’s trial is expected to last two weeks.

The crime, with multiple victims well-known in the community, shocked Prattville, a city that prides itself on a low crime rate. At the time, Prattville Police Chief Mark Thompson labeled the incident an armed robbery gone wrong at the Hook-Up Barber and Style Shop. The business is near the intersection of U.S. Highway 82 and Highway 14.

Two of the victims were shot in the head, and the third was shot in the legs, testimony before Autauga District Judge Joy Booth revealed during a preliminary hearing on July 31, 2017.

Morgan allegedly knocked on the door of the shop at about 10:40 p.m. He was allegedly armed with a small-caliber handgun, Jeremy Thompson, a Prattville Police Department investigator testified during the preliminary hearing. Jeremy Thompson is not related to Mark Thompson. Cain was allegedly right behind him, armed with a pump shotgun and wearing a mask, Jeremy Thompson said.

Anthony Smith, owner of the business, wouldn’t let anyone inside at that time of night, unless he knew them, witnesses told police. Smith knew Morgan, Jeremy Thompson said.

“Witnesses said Morgan came in and said ‘You know what time it is',” Jeremy Thompson testified. “So the witnesses thought it was a robbery.”

Cain allegedly went to a table where four men were playing dominoes and allegedly said “Give it up,” Jeremy Thompson said. Witnesses said Eddie Dean Scott, 56, of Autauga County, grabbed the shotgun, and Morgan allegedly came over and shot Scott in the top of the head with the handgun, Jeremy Thompson said.

Scott died later at Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery, he said. Al Seals Benson, 50, of Elmore County, was found dead in the business with “shrapnel” wounds from the handgun to both legs, Thompson said. Scott and Benson died of blunt force trauma, the capital murder indictments read. Smith made it outside.

Security camera footage from the Bee Line convenience store next door showed Smith, 46, of Autauga County, staggering into the frame holding his left side, Thompson said. Autopsy results brought out that Smith had been shot in the chest with the .410 gauge shotgun that was loaded with birdshot, Jeremy Thompson said. Pellets lodged in his lung and heart, he said.

Smith fell down once, got up and continued to stagger toward the store, when he fell a second time, just in front of the doors of the business, Jeremy Thompson said. He lay there motionless for a short time, Jeremy Thompson said. Cain allegedly approached Smith as he lay on the ground then “shot him in the back of the head with the shotgun,” Jeremy Thompson testified.

In a prior interview, chief Assistant District Attorney C.J. Robinson labeled the murders as “executions,” and called the scene, “disturbing.”