Murder charge in Super 8 shooting moves to grand jury

By Chris Dumond
Media General News Service
Published: July 1, 2008

A murder charge against an Orange County man accused of killing a local man at the Super 8 motel on Candlers Mountain Road in April will be heard by a city grand jury next month.

Marcious Cousins, 25, of Locust Grove, is charged with first-degree murder, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Cousins is accused of shooting Michael Blanchard Jr., 24, of Lynchburg on April 20.

After Cousins’ preliminary hearing Monday morning, a judge ruled there was enough evidence to send the case forward.

Charles Scott, a friend of Blanchard’s, said the slaying started out as a case of mistaken identity.

Scott testified he was at an after-prom party at the motel the night of Heritage High School’s dance. Scott said that as he was leaving the motel, he saw a Chevrolet Caprice that he thought belonged to a friend.

After flagging the car down, he realized he had made a mistake, but the men in the car started antagonizing him, he said.

“It looked like they was lookin’ for trouble,” Scott said.

When Blanchard came out of the motel to meet him, Scott said, he saw the passenger in the front seat had a gun.

After Blanchard argued with Cousins, who was driving, Scott said, Cousins took the pistol from his passenger and shot it out the window.

“(Blanchard) grabbed … his ribs and he said, ‘I’m shot,’” Scott said.

Passengers in the car had a different view of things.

Ciara Gillispie, who was dating Cousins, testified Blanchard came up to the car and punched Cousins through the driver’s side window before the shooting.

Marcus Elliott, who was in the back seat behind Cousins, said Blanchard was reaching into his pants before Cousins shot him.

Defense attorney Andrew Childress tried to convince Judge Joseph Serkes to send the case forward as second-degree murder.

Childress said there was no premeditation or planning and that Cousins didn’t bring the gun, he got it from the front-seat passenger. Serkes, however, said the act of getting the pistol from another person was enough to send the case forward as first-degree murder.

The next grand jury meeting is scheduled for July 7.

Cousins is jailed in the Lynchburg Adult Detention Center.