AKRON, Ohio — A Summit County jury is now deliberating the fate of two men charged in the broad daylight killing of another man along I-77 in Green.
Sirvonte Suggs and Ahmere Williams are facing multiple charges, including aggravated murder, in connection with the death of 23-year-old Marquise Banks, who was shot while driving on I-77 South on Aug 3, 2023.
RELATED: SUV driver shot, killed by passenger in pickup truck on I-77
The violence startled multiple drivers on the highway during the evening rush. Investigators said it was not a case of road rage but rather a gang-related retaliation killing.
The men are being tried together in Judge Kelly McLaughlin's courtroom.
During closing arguments on Thursday, Brad Gessner, chief of counsel for the Summit County Prosecutor's Office, said 11 shots were fired by Suggs into Banks' Jeep.
The prosecution claims Williams helped plan the killing.
"If you are the person who put it in motion, you are as responsible as the person who pulled the trigger," Gessner said.
Ohio Department of Transportation footage captured a blue Dodge pickup truck pulling up alongside Banks in a black Jeep Wagoneer.
A man's hand appeared from the passenger side of the pickup truck. Moments later, a barrage of bullets was fired into the Jeep.
After he was shot, Banks veered across a grassy median into the northbound lanes of I-77 and slammed into a Mercedes driven by Ann Shuman, who was heading home at the time.
Shuman's arm was cut up by flying glass, but remarkably, she wasn't seriously injured.
"I realized the car was coming towards the grass and he started shooting through the grass. That's kind of of when it went into slow motion and I could see the dirt fly," Shuman told News 5 two months after the shooting. "Emotionally, I have a really hard time driving down that part of 77 and going through there."
RELATED: Search for killer continues two months after I-77 shooting in Green
Prosecutors said Suggs and Williams were part of a gang, and the highway killing was in retaliation for another fatal shooting that happened less than a week earlier.
In that case, 18-year-old Tayveion Murphy was shot in the 500 block of Noble Avenue in West Akron on July 30.
"This was a concentrated and deliberate kill. The intent is nothing other than to take Marquise Banks's life," Gessner said.
During their closing arguments, defense attorneys questioned the reliability of witnesses who testified, said there was reasonable doubt and pointed out the owner of the pickup— where the shots came from— was registered to another man.
"Human beings, we want to hold somebody responsible. We do. You guys all do, but holding the wrong person responsible for that, it's not gonna bring justice," said John Greven, the attorney for Suggs.
Noah Munyer, who represents Williams, denied his client was involved in a murder plot and said Williams was in West Virginia when the deadly highway shooting happened.
"You can presume the plan was discussed. They have to prove it. You can't just assume it," Munyer said.
A third man charged in connection with the Banks's death, Giovanni Porter, testified against Suggs and Williams.
If a verdict isn't reached by Thursday evening, the jury is expected to resume their deliberations Friday morning.
