A man accused of shooting and killing in an execution-style murder captured on camera in North Miami Beach hoped a court would grant him some type of jail release as he awaits trial.
Marcuss Ealy, 22, has been charged by police with stealing the gold medallion belonging to Malcom Avery Johnson Jr. and killing him.
Surveillance cameras captured the 2023 shooting on May 30 near Northwest 170th Street and Northwest 3rd Avenue. In the video, two males approach Johnson, steal his personal stuff, shoot him, and then drive away.
According to records, the second man charged with murder, Mario Fogler, claimed to be the man in the video wearing a yellow sweatshirt.
Fogler pled guilty to second-degree murder in March and was sentenced to 20 years in jail, followed by two years of probation, according to court records. However, Fogler must testify against Ealy in a subsequent trial or court process.
“The defendant agrees to testify in open court against Marcus Ealy. On Monday, during an Arthur hearing, Sergeant Maria Pinillos of the North Miami Beach Police Department testified that Ealy fired the gun that killed Malcolm Avery Johnson Jr.
State attorneys are confident in their case against Ealy. In addition to the co-defendant’s confession, they revealed Monday that the defendant’s brother wrote them a letter saying Ealy was the gunman.
Prosecutors also discovered photographs of Ealy and his girlfriend posing with the medallion in a hidden folder on her phone, just hours after he allegedly killed a man for it.
Ealy has refuted all claims and hoped for house arrest.
However, Judge Cristina Miranda refused to grant Ealy a bond, citing the fact that authorities were already monitoring him with a hidden camera prior to the 2023 murder. Law enforcement installed a camera outside Ealy’s home due to his claimed involvement in gangs and recent gunshots at the property.
“I can’t in any good conscience say that it would be safe for the community to return this defendant to his home where law enforcement has gone to the extent of putting a pole camera to observe what’s going on,” Miranda informed the jury.
