MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis woman accused of killing Pastor Ricky Floyd was denied a reduced bond during her bail hearing Friday morning.
Memphis Police say 42-year-old Samantha Marion shot Floyd after an argument at a bar. She is currently being held on a $100,000 bond.
Her attorneys claim this was a case of self-defense, but prosecutors disagree.
“She doesn’t get in. She doesn’t drive off. She retrieves her gun, and conceals it behind her back,” said Assistant District Attorney Missy Branhan. “This is exactly what the public is scared of.”
During her bail hearing Friday morning, Lead Judicial Commissioner John Marshall decided to keep Samantha Marion’s bond at $100,000.
“There are also serious public safety concerns and I find that the $100,000 bond is reasonable in this situation,” said Marshall.
Marion is facing a voluntary manslaughter charge after allegedly shooting and killing Pastor Ricky Floyd after the two got into an argument inside a South Memphis bar that spilled outside.
“That’s a public safety concern. It is exactly what we are trying to have people not do,” Branhan said.
Marion’s attorney confirms she had never met Floyd before this incident.
Judge Marshall says the court finds that unless it is self-defense, anytime a gun is pulled and shot, it is an act of violence that puts the community at risk.
“This is another act of gun violence in our city,” said Marshall.
Prosecutors argued that Marion’s bond should not be lowered due to public safety, and they believe the likelihood of conviction is good. Branhan says the surveillance video details what happened.
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“Go home. It’s 1:17. Go to your children, but no. She gets a gun, conceals it behind her back, gets out of her car, and starts approaching Mr. Floyd telling him not to approach her,” she said.
“What the state failed to mention was that she was followed into the parking lot. That her phone was taken from her hand and thrown from her. She was verbally assaulted inside and outside of the bar,” said defense attorney Kevin Massey.
Her attorneys, John Keith Perry and Massey say Marion is a mother of four who has never had any run-ins with the law. Perry says they believe this is a classic case of self-defense.
“This was a person she had never met before. The information about her following him with some video is totally inaccurate,” Perry said.
Marion is due back in court on Tuesday.
