Demond Tally was killed early Feb. 10, 2019.
A jury returned a guilty verdict on all counts Thursday in the trial of a Galloway Township man charged in the fatal 2019 shooting outside the home of the now Atlantic City mayor.
Demond Tally, 45, was gunned down by two men as he walked from then-City Council President Marty Small’s home to his house nearby on Presbyterian Avenue.
Shamar Scott, 29, was accused of stalking Tally at Harrah’s Atlantic City after a party let out around 4 a.m. Feb. 10, 2019. He then picked up another man, and the two laid in wait, firing several shots as Tally passed, according to the charges.
He was convicted of murder and weapons offenses. A large drug case that included several others is still pending.
Tally was not involved in the drug enterprise, and his killing was not connected to the separate case.
The defense insisted the state based its case on circumstantial evidence twisted into fitting a narrative that portrays Scott as a willing hitman lured in by the promise of a $50,000 payday and the respect of the man who allegedly wanted Tally dead.
The jury returned a quick verdict, having just started deliberations Thursday morning, after instruction from Judge Donna Taylor.
The two sides painted much different pictures of Scott during closing arguments Wednesday, capping off a nearly three-week trial that is so immersed in the deadly street justice of Atlantic City that the judge has banned cell phones and other electronic equipment from the courtroom. Attendees have to be wanded by a sheriff’s officer before entering.
Steven Martinez allegedly put out bounty on Tally due to an ongoing beef between the two sides.
Martinez was shot at days earlier outside the Lighthouse Plaza., Assistant Prosecutor Paige Jedlicka said.
ShotSpotter registered 16 shots, BreakingAC reported at that time. No one was struck.
No one was charged in that shooting.
At about 5:13 a.m. Feb. 10, 2019, Tally was struck seven times along Presbyterian Avenue.
It would be years before arrests were made, with Martinez, Scott and Deshawn Hose charged with murder.
Scott is the first to go to trial.
“This is what a good old-fashioned railroading looks like,” defense attorney David Bahuriak told the jurors in his closing Wednesday.
He said the state presented a lot about others involved in the alleged conspiracy but offered nothing substantial to tie his client to the crime.
Bahuriak also claimed video that allegedly showed Scott’s drive through the city to the crime scene was two different cars, and questioned the motives of a jailhouse witness who claimed Scott bragged about the killing.
“In my 30 years as a lawyer, I have not seen such an absolute mess,” he said. “I cannot imagine it being more confusing or more misleading.”
Bahuriak said there was no evidence of any payment for the alleged hit, and told jurors if they were left with questions, "that's reasonable doubt "
Jedlicka said the defense ignored key points in the prosecution, including texts between Scott and Martinez — known on the street as “Benji” — that she said prove the defendant happily took up the offer of being a paid killer.
That culminated in a green check mark Scott texted to Martinez at 5:32 a.m., 19 minutes after the killing. She alleged it was Scott’s way of letting Martinez know the job was done.
Martinez, who had flown to California allegedly to be far away when the killing happened, replied with a "100" emoji and a text saying, “try to hit me up when you get a chance.”
Tally was at Harrah’s attending the Marty Small Ball that started late Feb. 9, 2019, and let out around 4 the next morning. Video shows him pass by Scott, who appears to be on his phone, watching, Jedlicka told the jurors.
The assistant prosecutor pointed to a portion where Scott appears to skip because “he is so excited that he has seen his target.”
Tally does not see Scott at that point, but another part of the video shows the two greet one another with an embrace about an hour before Tally would be shot dead.
Bahuriak earlier used the same videos to show Scott was in a red hoodie and brown boots that do not match the white or gray shirt and pants worn by one of two men seen running from the shooting.
A man all in black is allegedly Hose, whose home was searched and three guns found. Tally was shot by two different guns. Neither was recovered.
Jedlicka said it’s understandable that Scott would have changed from wearing “the reddest hoodie ever” that he knew was captured by the 2,000 cameras in the casino before he went to kill someone.
She said in that time Scott also dropped off the three friends he was with at the casino, and picked up Hose and something else.
“Call a cab,” Scott texted Hose at 3:28 a.m. Feb. 10, 2019, Jedlicka showed.
It indicated he was "grabbing little buddy," referencing a gun, she alleged.
Tally and others had attended the party thrown by Small, and were heading home. First Tally stopped at Small’s house to pick up his cell phone that he accidentally left there.
The Atlantic City mayor took the stand under subpoena last week, confirming that Tally had stopped at his house briefly. The two met on Small’s porch, where he gave his friend the cell phone.
Small then went inside, closed the door and heard gunshots.
He became overwhelmed with emotion when asked to describe the scene as he opened his door to find that his childhood friend who was like his brother had been shot.
His cameras were not working at the time, so there is no video of the actual attack.
“Did he ever tell you Steven Martinez was trying to kill him?” Bahuriak asked the mayor during cross-examination.
“No,” Small replied.
He then asked if Small had any knowledge of Tally trying to have Martinez killed.
“Not the person that I knew,” he replied.
One of Small's defense attorneys in his criminal case, Jordan Barbone, sat in the audience throughout Small's testimony and then left with him.
During his closing, Bahuriak said that if the beef was so well-known between Tally and Martinez, his close friend should have known about it.
Bahuriak said he will appeal the verdict.
Scott could face life in prison when he is sentenced May 5.
