Maleak R. Brown, 24, has been sentenced to 35 years for shooting and killing 22-year-old Marcus Lorenzo James, who lived in Festus.
Brown had recent addresses in Barnhart and Centreville, Ill., authorities reported.
Jefferson County Div. 4 Circuit Judge Brenda Stacey sentenced Brown on Thursday, Oct. 19, to 20 years for unlawful use of a weapon, 15 years each for two counts of armed criminal action and 10 years for voluntary manslaughter. A jury found Brown guilty on Aug. 9 of the four felonies, court records show.
Brown’s sentences for unlawful use of a weapon and voluntary manslaughter will run concurrent to each other, or at the same time, and the two sentences for armed criminal action also will run concurrently. The weapon and manslaughter sentences will run consecutively with the armed criminal action sentences for a total of 35 years, according to court documents.
Brown shot and killed James on June 15, 2022, at an apartment in the 1500 block of Westvale Drive in Festus.
Witnesses told officers that Brown and James were involved in a physical altercation in a downstairs apartment at the complex, and then James went to his apartment upstairs. In the meantime, Brown went to his car and retrieved a firearm and went to James’ apartment and tried to get inside but could not and fired through the door five times, striking James and killing him, the probable-cause statement in the case said.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Courtney Goodwin handled the case.