A life sentence without the possibility of parole was handed down to Danville local, Kevin Marshall, age 35, by U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce for a litany of crimes including the carjacking and murder of Daniel Walter, along with drug trafficking and weapons charges, according to a report by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. At the Monday sentencing, Marshall received an additional ten-year sentence on top of his four life terms for possessing a firearm as a felon. The chilling events surrounding the April 25, 2020 murder detailed Marshall shooting Walter multiple times after luring him from his vehicle before taking the victim's phone and wallet.
During Marshall's arrest on August 18, 2020, a Taurus handgun was seized and later connected via forensic analysis to both the murder and a series of unrelated shootings that occurred in Danville in early 2020, leading to a string of charges issued by a federal grand jury in August 2021 and a superseding indictment in April 2023; the trial ran from July 31 to August 7, 2024, where Marshall’s efforts to tamper with witnesses and obstruct proceedings including ordering the deletion of Facebook records and coercion of witnesses to draft false statements came to light, but despite these challenges the jury convicted Marshall on all counts, and he's been in U.S. Marshal’s Service custody since August 3, 2021, since then.
Before his latest convictions, Marshall had a record that included a second-degree murder conviction for the killing of Latifah Cross in Danville on May 21, 2013. During the sentencing, Judge Bruce reflected upon both murders and remarked on Marshall's other violent crimes and witness tampering, alongside the defendant's apparent lack of remorse, emphasizing the dire need to remove such a threat from society for public safety.
"The defendant's violent murder of Daniel Walter, along with his armed distribution of dangerous drugs in our community, show a chilling disregard for human life," Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory M. Gilmore stated, praising the joint effort of federal and local authorities in obtaining justice for the victim and enhancing community safety, acknowledging the bravery of the witnesses who stepped forward in the face of adversity, it's a joint effort that stands up to the worst of our society and pushes us ever slightly toward a more secure world.
