Prosecution, defense rest cases in trial of Marvin Guy

BELL COUNTY, Texas (KWTX) - Closing arguments in the trial of Marvin Guy are scheduled for Nov. 20 after the state and the defense both rested their cases on Thursday.

The trial of The State of Texas vs. Marvin Louis Guy began almost 9 years after the Killeen Police Department served a no-knock drug warrant at about 5 a.m. on May 9, 2014, at Guy’s home on Circle M Drive.

The operation went south quickly after the officers were in position, a massive shoot-out began that injured four officers and claimed the life of Detective Charles “Chuck” Dinwiddie, who later died May 11, 2014.

Guy, 49 at the time, was taken into custody and has been held at the Bell County Jail since May 10, 2014. He is charged with capital murder and three counts of attempted capital murder in Dinwiddie’s death.

Guy has always reiterated that he didn’t realize it was police breaking into his home and claims he fired his weapon in self-defense.

Thursday was a busy day at the Bell County Justice center as the courtroom opened with the defense’s cross examination of Nathan McCown.

The defense questioned McCown on his reports that he submitted about the operation that left 3 cops injured and claimed the life of Detective Dinwiddie.

McCown maintained that he never saw or spoke with Guy during the raid.

The prosecution also heard from firefighter and medic Jennifer Powers foster who described the chaos that erupted before her as she arrived on the scene.

The prosecution went on to introduce another SWAT member who was involved that day, Detective Jason Petty, who almost caused a mistrial by making a comment on Guy’s alleged “violent past”.

After excusing the jury, the defense moved for a mistrial that was denied by judge John Gauntt.

Petty’s original statement was struck from the record and Gauntt prompted him to start again.

Petty oversaw the vehicular assault that was planned to happen at the same time as the apartment raid, and notified Dinwiddie’s wife of his critical injuries, escorting her to the hospital.

During the defense’s cross examination, Petty admitted that he did not yell “police search warrant”, which was standard for officers involved in the operation.

Holly Dinwiddie was the last witness the prosecution presented, and her testimony made many eyes water in the courtroom.

When Petty brought Holly to the hospital to see her husband, he was on life support. She remembers

“He was able to blink, but He could not move, he was paralyzed. He could not breathe on his own.”

Holly and Chuck were married for 23 years, and she shared with the court how difficult it was to say goodbye to her husband and raise her two children as a single mother.

After extended family came from across Texas to say their goodbyes to the detective, Holly made the difficult decision to remove her husband from life support.

“We were a team,” Holly remembers tearfully, “and now our team is broken.”

The defense’s first and only witness was Scott Meads, the Commander of the criminal investigation division of the Killeen Police Department in 2014, directed the administrative review and found that there were “tactical errors and factors that lead to the injuries of the officers.

In his report, Meads noted that there was a delay in the team’s schedule and that their supervisor, Sergeant John Rinehart, did not have enough time to verify the operation and plan.

During his cross examination by the prosecution, Mead admitted that whatever happened in the tactical team did not make Guy any less responsible for the injuries that occurred and the death of Detective Dinwiddie.

After inviting judge Gauntt and the rest of the courtroom back after a small recess, both the prosecution and defense closed their cases and Gauntt gave the jury a working day to collect their thoughts on the evidence.

They will return for closing arguments, the court’s final charges, and the verdict on Monday the 20th at 8:45 a.m.

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