Marvin Guy No Longer Faces Death Penalty for Allegedly Shooting, Killing Cop in Botched No-Knock Raid

An unannounced SWAT team invaded a Texas man’s home in failed pursuit of drug evidence. They’ve blamed him for the violence they incited.

Prosecutors in Texas are no longer seeking the death penalty against a man who killed a police officer who was breaking into his home in a no-knock SWAT raid looking for proof he was dealing drugs.

Marvin Guy, 57, of Killeen has been in jail since May 2014 awaiting trial after police attempted to serve a warrant to search his home by sending a SWAT team, unannounced, through a window. Guy reportedly mistook the police for intruders. He opened fire and shot four of them. One of them, Det. Charles "Chuck" Dinwiddie, subsequently died of his injuries.

Guy was arrested and charged with three counts of attempted capital murder and then eventually capital murder for Dinwiddie's death. Despite the complicated circumstances and the police's own responsibility for what happened, prosecutors said in 2014 they'd be seeking the death penalty against Guy.

And he's been sitting in prison ever since, awaiting trial, held on bonds totaling $4 million. This week the Killeen Daily Herald reported that the Bell County District Attorney's Office has finally agreed to waive the death penalty so that the case can move forward. Guy still faces life in prison if convicted.

Guy has not actually been charged with any drug-related crimes, even though the police raided his home in the first place for evidence of narcotics. All of the charges are a result of the no-knock raid going bad.

Guy's arrest and the circumstances behind it received brief national coverage in 2014 and then quickly faded. But the dangers of no-knock police raids continued to manifest across the country, and then took center stage in 2020 when Breonna Taylor was killed in Louisville, Kentucky, by police in another drug raid gone bad.

Some municipalities have decided to ban or severely restrict the use of no-knock raids. Killeen finally banned the practice in 2021, but that was two years too late for James Scott Reed, who was shot and killed by Killeen police in another no-knock raid searching for narcotics. One officer involved later resigned and then pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence in an attempt to conceal that he had fired shots at Reed.

A trial date for Guy has still not been set. Now that capital punishment is off the table, prosecutors are hoping to bring it before a jury by next February, though Guy's defense team is asking for more time to line up expert witnesses.

Comments

[sarcasmic]

Marvin Guy, 57, of Killeen has been in jail since May 2014 awaiting trial after police attempted to serve a warrant to search his home by sending a SWAT team, unannounced, through a window. Guy reportedly mistook the police for intruders.

Mistook? Seriously? What else do you call armed men coming in through your window? Uninvited guests?

Had the police identified themselves it would be a totally different matter. But they didn't. They deserved whatever they got.

I hope he requests a jury trial.

[sarcasmic]

Ah, read the last sentence, dummy. It's going in front of a jury. Good. I hope there's one sane person who will defend his right to defend his home.

[Fat Mike's Drug Habit]

It's Texas and I remember a similar case from a few years ago where a Texas jury acquitted the guy in this situation.

Let's hope that's what happens here. The only thing that is actually going to stop this nonsense is when the cops realize they'll get shot for doing it.

[sarcasmic]

The only thing that is actually going to stop this nonsense is when the cops realize they'll get shot for doing it.

Or stop using SWAT to terrorize people with warrants and only use it for the dramatic situations it was created for.

[Fat Mike's Drug Habit]

Yeah, that would work too but I don't really expect government to correct this problem. There's no incentive, qualified immunity and whatnot means all the people involved are shielded from responsibility.

"I don't want to die today" is a more powerful incentive than anything else we're going to get.

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[IceTrey]

Or end drug prohibition.

[SQRLSY One]

2014 to 2022 is EIGHT FUCKING YEARS!!!! WHERE is our right to a "speedy trial"?

[Davy C]

I was asking myself the same thing, but then I saw this:

prosecutors are hoping to bring it before a jury by next February, though Guy's defense team is asking for more time to line up expert witnesses.

If it's the defense that's stalling, it's not a constitutional violation. I don't know to what extent the delay is the fault of the defense vs the prosecution, though.

[Overt]

"Had the police identified themselves it would be a totally different matter. "

Maybe I have a stick up my ass, but I completely disagree. Shouting "I'm a cop" as you kick in a door (or go through a window) should not be protection. When you forcefully invade someone's house, you have no expectation of them letting you do so, no matter what you say.

Let's talk about some more bullshit here: *EIGHT* fucking years awaiting trial?

[BYODB]

Yeah, the eight years awaiting trial seems like a constitutional violation to me. This is some egregious bullshit no matter how you look at it, but something tells me Texas is going to owe this guy a few million dollars for what they've done.

[sarcasmic]

Shouting "I'm a cop" as you kick in a door (or go through a window) should not be protection.

When someone shouts "I'm a cop!" as they kick in your door, that's shorthand for "I'm not a robber who is here to hurt you. Do as I say and you'll probably live through this. Threaten me and you're dead."

That's when a rational person stands down.

But until they identify themselves it's rational to treat them like they're robbers.

Using SWAT to serve warrants is a totally different issue, which I am totally against.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

""That's when a rational person stands down.

But until they identify themselves it's rational to treat them like they're robbers.""

By not standing down?

[sarcasmic]

How do you treat robbers who are climbing through your window?

[TrickyVic (old school)]

Which one's, the ones that claim to be cops or that don't?

[sarcasmic]

How often do people get robbed by people pretending to be police? Does that happen often enough to not believe the people claiming to be cops?

Or are you trying to be clever by calling cops robbers?

[Overt]

Have you ever watched one of these SWAT raids, Sarc?

It isn't "BANG BANG! THIS IS THE POLICE GET ON THE GROUND".

It is a cacophony of noise coming in all directions. Jolted out of bed, with people in multiple rooms screaming 50 things at once "GET DOWN POLICE GET THE FUCK DOWN POLICE GOD DAMNIT SHOW ME YOUR HANDS GET DOWN YOUR FUCKING POLICE HANDS WHERE WHO IN ELSE WHAT!" All with crashing doors and windows from different directions. Flashlights in your face, and other people in your house screaming.

I don't see any reason we should expect any person to react RATIONALLY in such a situation.

[sarcasmic]

I think you're missing my point. All I'm trying to say is that when people come through the window AND YOU DON'T KNOW THEY'RE COPS then you've got a right to defend your home, and ONCE YOU KNOW THEY'RE COPS you stop shooting.

That's all.

Why is this so hard?

[MatthewSlyfield]

"All I'm trying to say is that when people come through the window AND YOU DON'T KNOW THEY'RE COPS then you've got a right to defend your home, and ONCE YOU KNOW THEY'RE COPS you stop shooting."

"Why is this so hard?"

Sorry, but until I've seen a badge and I've had a chance to call the PD and verify that it's legit, I don't know that they are cops.

[RedPilledConservative]

I completely agree - anyone who breaks down my door in the middle of the night should expect bullets coming their way.

I may die, but it's more likely that it's a home invasion rather than the cops. If is the cops, I'm sure as hell not waiting to find out before I defend myself and the family inside!!

[Rossami]

re: "How often do people get robbed by people pretending to be police? Does that happen often enough to not believe the people claiming to be cops?"

Yes, that happens. Not every day but often enough that you should not automatically believe the person yelling.

Here's the first example that popped up in a quick google search. There are many more.

Before you ask, no, I do not know of a source for reliable statistics on this kind of crime.

[Squirrelloid]

They should never be kicking in your door until they've announced they're cops, that they have a warrant, and they've given you a reasonable amount of time to open the door.

If they're so worried you're going to destroy evidence, they should arrest you outside your home, show you the warrant, and escort you to your home to let them in.

[sarcasmic]

They say they use SWAT to serve warrants because it makes it safer for the police.
Thing is, when they apprehend people who they really are afraid of they surround them outside while they're checking the mail or taking out the trash.
So the argument about officer safety is a lie.
These tactics serve one and only one purpose, and that is to terrorize.

[SQRLSY One]

A quick way to cut through all the bullshit: They SAY that the enemy is "drugs". THEN they ALSO say, "We have to kick down your doors unannounced in the middle of the night, because you MIGHT flush some EVIDENCE down the toilet!"

Well wait a minute now! If your "enemy" has been flushed down the toilet, what issue remains? ANSWER: Enemy is NOT drugs, as they say!!!! Enemy is PEOPLE who do NOT obey The Almighty State at all times!!!!

[RedPilledConservative]

Exactly!!

They followed the my pillow guy to the drive thru at the Hardees - why is this not the norm!!!

[EscherEnigma]

When someone shouts "I'm a cop!" as they kick in your door, that's shorthand for "I'm not a robber who is here to hurt you. Do as I say and you'll probably live through this. Threaten me and you're dead."

Given the number of times cops have shot people have felt threatened by sleeping people, babies in cribs, cellphones, waistbands, the back of people's heads, handcuffed suspects that are facedown in the dirt, and leashed dogs in a yard they aren't currently in, I'm not sure this is the strong claim you think it is.

[sarcasmic]

Given the number of times cops have shot people have felt threatened by sleeping people, babies in cribs, cellphones, waistbands, the back of people's heads, handcuffed suspects that are facedown in the dirt, and leashed dogs in a yard they aren't currently in, I'm not sure this is the strong claim you think it is.

Being that those things are news because they're unusual, I think the claim is pretty accurate. These raids happen all the time without incident. The ones that become news are the ones that go wrong.

Remember that the job of a police officer is not to enforce the law. That's a myth. Their job is to enforce their will. They issue commands, and if you don't do what they say they initiate force. They'll happily kill you for defiance of their will. So your best bet is to do what they say.

Or as they say in Texas, "You can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride."

[Overt]

"That's when a rational person stands down."

That depends. Do you live in a neighborhood where it is not uncommon for people to kick in your door and shout "I'm a cop" and then rob you blind? If so, then maybe the rational thing to do- especially when you believe you are innocent- is to assume the people kicking in your door are liars who need to be shot.

This is the problem with No Knock Raids (and by the way, a NKR *does* include shouting "Police!" as you crash through the door). By design they prevent the owner of property from knowing you are a police officer. They pit a person's right to self defense against the state's interest in securing evidence. That this practice still exists is as big of a crime against humanity as forced sterilization.

[sarcasmic]

Do you live in a neighborhood where it is not uncommon for people to kick in your door and shout "I'm a cop" and then rob you blind?

Great hypothetical, but I have yet to hear of such a place.

That this practice still exists is as big of a crime against humanity as forced sterilization.

Really? Cops busting in your door in the middle of the night is as bad as chopping off your balls? Um, no. I do not concur.

Yes of course it's a situation that shouldn't happen in the first place, and we can all list reasons why.

But here in reality people break into homes. Some of the time they're cops. If your home is being broken into you've got a right to defend it. As a practical matter once the intruders identify themselves as government, it's a good idea to stop shooting and start doing what they say (up to a point of course - don't answer questions or consent to searches).

[Overt]

"Really? Cops busting in your door in the middle of the night is as bad as chopping off your balls? Um, no. I do not concur."

Yes it is. It is a destructive violation of your rights in order to make life more convenient for the state. And it happens far more often than forced sterilization ever did. To me, it makes them close enough to be equal in severity.

"As a practical matter once the intruders identify themselves as government, it's a good idea to stop shooting and start doing what they say (up to a point of course - don't answer questions or consent to searches)."

But it isn't a practical matter. The police, by kicking down doors, have created an impractical situation. And you are over-simplifying the process of "identifying themselves as government". This happened at Ruby Ridge. It happened in the case above. The problem is not the irrationality of someone firing- even after an officer has screamed that they are police. The problem is that the police have created a situation where a person must react extremely quickly, under duress- they have created a situation where rationality is not likely.

[Ben of Houston]

Note to self, when robbing sarcasmic, shout "Police" while kicking the door down.

In all serious, dynamic violent robberies are extremely rare, but when they do happen, fractions of seconds count.

The real solution is that the police have no need to do this sort of entry outside of an active hostage or terrorist situation.

[sarcasmic]

aye

[Rossami]

When someone shouts "I'm a cop!" as they kick in your door, that's an unverified self-authentication indistinguishable from a robber/murderer/rapist/drug-dealer trying to trick you into lowering your guard. If we lived in a sane world, shouting "I'm a cop" while kicking would have no weight whatsoever.

[Liberty_Belle]

I don't think it even goes that far. When I was 12 y/o the Fire Department kicked our side-door in to drag us out of the burning house. Being scared awake, all I registered was muffled male voices yelling, a baby crying and breaking glass. I didn't even smell the smoke until my mom carried me outside into the night. I was scared to death and had nightmares for awhile.

Now imagine I was grown and had a firearm nearby. No amount of yelling identification was going to register to me during that window of panic, and I would likely have shot somebody. I don't care how articulately they identified themselves, I don't see how any sane person can expect any kind of compliance from someone scared awake at the wee hours of the morning .

[Gaear Grimsrud]

Thanks for the perspective. Never been there but I can only hope my reaction would not lead to someone's death.

[RedPilledConservative]

That's exactly what any sane person would expect of you being jolted out of sleep in the middle of the night!

[Fist of Etiquette]

If I'm a home invader, the first thing I'm going to shout going in is "POLICE!". There are few better ways to pacify your victims.

[Gaear Grimsrud]

If someone shouts "police" and everyone that heard it ends up dead did it really make a sound?

[RedPilledConservative]

There's a YouTube "ring doorbell" video of two punks wearing body armor marked police as they rob the family at their front door.

[MatthewSlyfield]

In a just and sane world, he would get a unanimous acquittal on grounds of self defense.

[TWILL]

I live in the area, and I have been following this injustice since it happened. What was not mentioned in the story was that Marvin was awoken/ startled out of bed in the pitch-black dark of night at 0500 in the morning with his bedroom window being broken shattered, with no warning whatsoever. While still half asleep and frightened for his and his wife's life, and his apartment being broken into, he reacted to defend himself and his wife by quickly grabbing his legally owned shotgun and fired at the window that the criminals (I mean the police) were attempting to come in. He hit four criminals (there I go again, I meant the police), wounding three and killing one, with one blast from his shotgun.
As soon as he realized it was the police and not a bunch of armed criminals (there’s really not much of a difference between the two these days) he immediately dropped his shotgun and surrendered to the criminals/ the police.
After all was said and done. No drugs where to be found anywhere because Marvin didn't have any.
Also of note is that Marvin’s apartment wasn’t exactly in a nice area of town. In fact, much of Killeen, TX is not much of a nice part of town. That is why the soldiers stationed at Ft. Hood refer to Killeen as “The Hood”. And believe me….As a former soldier stationed at Ft Hood myself. It is. That’s why I live as far away from Killeen way out in Coryell County.

Thanks, Reason, for all you do, and I would like to make a shout out to all the good folks at the Institute for Justice (IJ) too. I’ve been following them for several years now and they are doing an outstanding job.

[SRG]

Why has it taken so long? 8 years and no trial?

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

He shot cops in self defense, they need to make sure he does time for that.

[Minadin]

My guesses:

- His defense attorneys wanted to get the death penalty off the table before they went to trial.
- Changed legal representation a number of times.
- Covid (responses) blew up in-person trials for a bit.

Still, 8.3 years is WAY too long to keep anyone incarcerated without a conviction. Unless it's been 100% his team causing the delays, he should argue that his right to a speedy trial has been violated.

[JeremyR]

The right to a speedy trial seems to have been throw out a long time ago, along with the jury trial bit (since prosecutors punish people who ask for one by asking for longer sentences)

[bevis the lumberjack]

Whatever happened to the concept of a “speedy” trial? This is a travesty.

Cops gotta play Army commando but they forget that sometimes the commandos lose people.

[sarcasmic]

One of the local police departments was showing off their MRAP, so I did some research. Looked like a total of three officers had been killed in the line of duty since the first one was recorded in the 1910s and the last in the 90s. When I say "killed" I excluded the many deaths they listed from things like COVID and car accidents, and only included homicides.

Yet they're all gung-ho war-on-cops officer-safety like it's a dangerous job or something.

[JeremyR]

As horrible as this is for him, it does put the lie to the claim that black shooters are always killed, never arrested

[Liberty_Belle]

So what if they find him innocent ? How are they going to give him his 8 years back ? This stinks.

[Liberty_Belle]

Oops. Sorry, this wasn't supposed to be a reply.

[HypCryme.com]

The only negative thing about Texas is their "justice" system. They still seem to have the old west habit of hanging them and worrying about whether they were really guilty later. Randall Dale Adams (the Thin Blue Line guy) was lucky, he was exonerated before they could kill him. Cameron Todd Willingham wasn't so lucky, he was executed when everyone in Texas with half a brain knew he wasn't guilty. Check into the "Dr. Death" that Texas prosecutors used to put innocent people on death row more than a few times.

[MoreFreedom]

You're disparaging the Texas justice system, by citing two miscarriages of justice one that happened 18 years ago, and the other 45 years ago. That seems pretty good considering the numerous miscarriages of justice in the news in the past few years, say for Laquan McDonald, Breonna Taylor and Eric Garner who all died before even getting a trial.

As for Dr. Death, that would be Dr. Christopher Duntsch who was never used by prosecutors to convict innocents. You're probably thinking of Dr. Steven Hayne, a coroner in Mississippi. Radley Balko has written extensively about how he screwed over innocents with prosecutors looking the other way.

[n00bdragon]

Suicide by homeowner.

[Naime Bond]

After he's exonerated, they should put him in charge of the SWAT team - that will put an end to putting people's lives at risk over a bag of cocaine.

[TWILL]

I live in the area, and I have been following this injustice since it happened. What was not mentioned in the story was that Marvin was awoken/ startled out of bed in the pitch-dark, black of night at 0500 in the morning with his bedroom window being shattered with no warning whatsoever. While still half asleep and frightened for his and his wife's life, and with his apartment being broken into, he reacted to defend himself and his wife by quickly grabbing his legally owned shotgun (I have to point the "legally owned" part out to some people, even though there's no such a thing as an illegal gun) and fired one blast at the window that the criminals (I mean the police) were attempting to come in. He hit four criminals (there I go again, I meant the police), wounding three and killing one.

Which in my book beats two birds with one stone. Because when you are stupid enough to line up four deep in a row outside of the window that you are trying to enter into........

Too bad the Afghanis and Iraqis that I fought weren't even that “stupid” enough to do something like that. Maybe if they had been as stupid as the Killeen police dept was, the war would have been over in 19 years instead of the 20 that it took us. You know, them not having nukes and F-15's to take on the U.S. Government and all. Just a bunch of sand rednecks in sandals, and a man dresses armed with only AK-47s that could really ruin your day.

As soon as he realized that it was the police and not a bunch of armed criminals (there is really not much of a difference between the two these days) he immediately dropped his shotgun and surrendered to the criminals/ the police.

After all was said and done. No drugs were to be found anywhere because Marvin didn't have any.

Also of note is that Marvin’s apartment wasn’t exactly in a nicer part of town. In fact, much of Killeen, TX is not much of a "nicer part" of town.

That is why the soldiers stationed at Ft. Hood refer to Killeen as “The Hood”. And believe me….As a former soldier stationed at Ft Hood myself. It is “The Hood".

That’s why I live as far, far away from Killeen as I can get, all the way out in the middle of nowhere in Coryell County, TX.

Thanks, Reason, for all you do, and I would like to make a shout out to all the good folks at the Institute for Justice (IJ) too. I’ve been following them for several years now and they are doing an outstanding job.

You should check them out.

[justtesting1234]

First edit. Very nice.