Suspect held on $1 million bond
Spokane police found a homicide suspect Friday after his cousin provided a name, but investigators still don’t know how the suspect learned the victims had cash.
Devennyion Marquise Courtney, 27, appeared in court Monday for his first hearing on a charge of aggravated first-degree murder. He is charged with killing an Iowa man during an apparent robbery last Tuesday morning at a North Side motel.
Spokane County District Judge Harold Clarke III ordered Courtney held on $1 million bond. Courtney said only “Yes, sir” and “Thank you” to Clarke’s questions during the brief hearing.
Courtney is charged with shooting 43-year-old Martin H. Doerring of Waterloo, Iowa, when Doerring returned to his room early Tuesday at the Apple Tree Inn, 9508 N. Division St.
According to court records, Doerring, Clifford E. Brown and Marvin G. Moyer went to have drinks at Miller’s Tavern on Oct. 18.
The three men work for R&M Construction Co. of Waterloo. The crew had been doing salvage work for about two months at the abandoned Kaiser Aluminum plant in Mead.
Brown and Moyer returned to their room at the Apple Tree at about midnight. At about 1:10 a.m., the men answered a knock on their door and were confronted by a man with a small-caliber pistol. He robbed them of a small amount of cash.
“The robber demanded more money, and Brown and Moyer told him their friend had all the money and would be returning to the room after he closed the bar,” detective John Miller wrote in his report. “The robber decided to wait.”
Later, Doerring arrived at the room, and the robber confronted him and demanded money. After a struggle, the robber shot and killed Doerring, according to court records.
On Friday, detective Miller was contacted by 21-year-old Marcus J. Davis, who is a Courtney’s cousin.
Davis – who has a robbery charge pending against him in an unrelated case – told investigators that Courtney had taken his car the night Doerring was killed. Davis called Courtney and he arranged to return the car, Miller wrote.
“Davis said that while they were driving, Courtney told him that he had … murdered a guy,” Miller wrote. “Davis said he asked Courtney what happened, and Courtney told him he tried to rob a guy and the guy grabbed his gun so he had to shoot him.”
Courtney also told Davis he had hidden the gun and money, Miller wrote.
After following Courtney for several hours Friday, detectives arrested him in front of a house at 2403 W. Francis Ave.
“During the interview, Courtney admitted his involvement in the robbery/homicide at the Apple Tree,” Miller wrote. “Courtney stated he would take officers and show them where the gun was at, which he did.”
Police said Monday that detectives are continuing to investigate where Courtney got the tip that Doerring, Brown and Moyer had large amounts of cash. “We are working leads on it, but we have a ton of paperwork.”