For Immediate Release:
February 9, 2023
For press inquiries only, contact:
Cameron Mixon (334) 242-7491
Attorney General Steve Marshall Announces Court of Criminal Appeals Upholds Murder and Other Convictions in Barbour County
(MONTGOMERY)óAttorney General Steve Marshall announced that the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the convictions of Reginald Dejuan Coley, age 51, of Eufaula. Coley was convicted in the Barbour County Circuit Court on February 11, 2022, for the murder of Michael Marshall and unlawful possession of marijuana, second-degree assault, and unlawful possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
The evidence at trial showed that on June 21, 2015, Michael and Marvin Marshall drove to Coley’s home and a confrontation between Coley and Marvin Marshall resulted in Michael Marshall being killed and Marvin Marshall being injured. When the police arrived, Coley claimed self-defense, but there was no evidence that he had been assaulted and police subsequently found marijuana, crack cocaine, and cocaine hidden inside a deep freezer in Coley’s shed.
Barbour County District Attorney Ben Reeves’s office successfully prosecuted this case and obtained guilty verdicts. Coley received a 40-year sentence for his murder conviction and two years for each of his various drug convictions to be served concurrently. Coley sought to have his convictions reversed on appeal.
The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division handled the case during the appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm Coley’s convictions. The Court did so in a decision issued Friday, February 3, 2023.
Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Jordan Shelton for her successful work on this case and thanks District Attorney Ben Reeves and his staff for their valuable assistance in defending the convictions of murder, unlawful possession of marijuana, second-degree assault, and unlawful possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
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