A young man cried on the witness stand this morning as he detailed for jurors the day he and two friends ended up killing Atlanta restaurant owner Guy Luck in Collegedale in 2003.

Joey Marshall, 23, will continue to testify throughout the day in the federal murder trial of Rejon Taylor, the only person implicated in the crime who has not pleaded guilty. Mr. Taylor, 24, could receive the death penalty if the jury decides to convict him after what is expected to be a six-week court proceeding.

Mr. Marshall testified that, later the same day as the killing, he and Mr. Taylor went out to eat at Red Lobster with their girlfriends, paying for the meal with some of the $800 they had stolen from the victim.

Mr. Marshall’s mother, grandmother, sister and aunt sat in the courtroom and broke into tears when he told jurors why he is testifying.

“I feel I owe it to Mr. Luck’s family to tell the truth,” Mr. Marshall said. “I owe it to my family as well.”

Mr. Marshall also admitted that he would rather not spend the rest of his life in jail. He faces a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole after pleading guilty to murder, kidnapping and carjacking in the Aug. 6, 2003, killing of Mr. Luck. U.S. District Judge Curtis L. Collier, however, could elect to reduce that time in prison because of the testimony he is offering against Mr. Taylor.

A third young man, Sir Jack Matthews, also has pleaded guilty and is expected to testify next week.

Mr. Taylor’s trial represents the first death penalty case in the history of Eastern Tennessee’s federal courts district. Historically the domain of state judicial systems, seeking the death penalty in the federal system is extremely rare.

Prosecutors say Mr. Taylor had a “reckless disregard for life” when he led the charge to kidnap Mr. Luck from the driveway of his home in the Atlanta neighborhood of Buckhead and then eventually kill him by shooting him in the mouth on the side of a road in Collegedale.

Mr. Marshall testified that he was following in a separate car that day and claims he did not realize what had happened until all three were speeding south on Interstate 75 in his car, trying to get away from the crime scene.

See tomorrow’s Times Free Press for complete details.

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