Demond Tally with his son, Demond Cottman, during a 2015 family trip to Grand Turk Island.
An Egg Harbor City man already jailed in the killing of an Atlantic City man is now charged with murdering the man's son in 2016.
Steven Martinez, 30, is one of four men allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of Demond Cottman outside the Hamilton Mall.
Cottman, 21, was a new husband and father when he died after 1 a.m. Nov. 25, 2016, the day after Thanksgiving.. His brother Shadi Cottman was wounded.
Martinez used a GPS monitor hidden on Cottman's vehicle to track his victim, according to the affidavit of probable cause obtained by BreakingAC.
It was retaliation because Martinez believed Cottman robbed him that Aug. 25, the affidavit states. No information has ever been released tying Cottman to a crime.
Surveillance video seems to show someone take something from under Cottman's SUV before the shooting, the affidavit states. That matches information about when the tracker was removed before the shooting.
At 1:02 a.m., four people — including Cottman and his brother — are seen leaving the mall, which was opened for Black Friday.
The driver and front seat passenger of the the suspect vehicle then get out and shoot at the victim multiple times before fleeing in their vehicle.
The driver has been identified as Malik Boone and front seat passenger as Martinez,according to the affidvit.
Also in the vehicle was 21-year-old Marcus Campbell. He would die five days later in the Woodland Condominiums, less than a mile from the mall.
No arrests were ever announced in that killing.
The deaths would not end there.
About two years after Cottman died, his father would also be a victim of gun violence.
Demond Tally, 45, of Atlantic City, was shot at about 5:13 a.m. Feb. 10, 2019, just after leaving the home of then-City Council President Marty Small.
When Small was sworn in as mayor eight months later, he broke down as he mentioned his "ace in hole" Tally, and how much his friend would have wanted to be there for him. Tally's mother and sister held the Bible when Small took his oath.
Tally's killing also remained unsolved until 30 people were indicted in a drug-trafficking ring in 2021. Three of those men were then tied to Tally's killing, including Martinez.
Steven MartinezHe has remained jailed since May 9, 2021.
It was in the Atlantic County Justice Facility where he was served with his latest charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and weapons offenses in Cottman's death.
Boone has not yet been arrested. He was released from prison May 5, 2021, after serving a drug sentence, records show.
The fourth man, Timothy Davis, originally told police he was on FaceTime with the three and was not in the vehicle at the time of the shooting, the affidavit states. But he later admitted to a confidential informant in a recorded call that he was with the men at the time of the shooting.
He was jailed on the charges this week.
