Alabama Police Officer Charged With Repo Murder

DECATUR, Ala. (WAFF) – Decatur police officer Mac Bailey Marquette was indicted for murder in connection to the shooting death of Steve Perkins, Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson announced on Friday.

The 23-year-old was taken into custody on Thursday evening after turning himself in at the Morgan County Jail.

Marquette was booked into the Morgan County Jail on a $30,000 bond. He bonded out 36 minutes after being booked.

Perkins was shot and killed outside of his home during the early hours of Sept. 29 amid a dispute with a tow truck driver.

Anderson said on Friday that of the four Decatur police officers who responded to the scene that night, only Marquette fired shots at Perkins.

The three other officers connected to the Perkins shooting, Christopher Mukkadam, Joey Williams, and Vance Summers, are not facing charges at this time.

Anderson said the grand jury consisted of eight men and ten women. Fifteen were white, and three were black. The grand jury heard from 15 witnesses and unanimously agreed to indict Marquette.

Anderson was asked if he considered recusing himself from the case because he works so closely with the Decatur Police Department. He said he did not, adding he received recommendations from other district attorneys to do so.

“When I ran for office, I assured the public that I wouldn’t shy away from the tough cases and I’m going to be true to my word. And I’m not going to shy away from this case. It is a tough case because of the relationship but I can’t let that get in the way of justice. And the people of Morgan County elected me DA, and I’m going to serve them as their DA”

In the wake of the Perkins shooting Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling announced that three of the four officers were fired and a fourth was suspended.

All four later appealed that discipline and have hearings scheduled for the end of January and beginning of February. WAFF 48 was told that Friday’s developments will not affect Marquette’s appeal process.

Marquette was hired by the department in the fall of 2020. He earned his police officer certification in April 2021.

On Sept. 20, 2023, he received a commendation from the department for his work as a drone pilot, helping officers track suspects on multiple occasions.

Before joining the force, Marquette worked at Lowe’s in Hartselle and Decatur, according to his personnel file.

Perkins would have turned 40 years old on Thursday.