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By
Jasmine Milbourne
- July 24, 2025
Attempted Murder
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Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Non-Fatal Shooting
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Shooting
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Victims
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During closing arguments on July 23, the final day of Antonio King’s trial, the prosecution called certain parts of King’s testimony “straight up lies.”
King is charged with first-degree murder and assault, attempted first-degree and second-degree murder, and four other related firearms offenses for the fatal shooting of 40-year-old Marcus Holloway and the non-fatal shooting of another bystander.
Surveillance footage showed an unknown black male, later identified as King, arguing with Holloway on the 1900 block of Edmondson Avenue. The argument quickly escalated, showing King retrieving an unknown object from his car and engaging in a physical altercation with Holloway before allegedly shooting him.
Defense attorney Robert D. Cole claimed that the fatal shooting was an act of self-defense.
Holloway was allegedly drunk with a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit, and possessed a firearm at the time of the incident. The other victim was reportedly a bystander and not the intended target.
The prosecution argued that King’s story “defied the imagination” given what he was doing the day of the incident. She noted that King claimed to be on his way to get breakfast but instead entered a liquor store. The prosecution also claimed King must have been in possession of a gun, considering investigators recovered a holster in his car that fit the firearm he used to allegedly shoot the victims.
She claimed that King’s actions were not motivated by self-defense, but that he was the aggressor. She also argued that King pushed another bystander out of the way to get to Holloway, brought the weapon to his cousin’s house and called his lawyer instead of law enforcement authorities after the shooting.
Cole began his closing argument by reminding the jury that they are making the most important decision in King’s life. He explained that King was in a “desperate” situation that led to the victims’ deaths. Excerpting from King’s testimony, Cole reiterated that the defendant was allegedly scared for his life and that Holloway was agitated during the incident.
Cole noted that if King were to walk away like the prosecution was claiming, King would not be here today. King had fired the gun in rapid succession, indicating he was scared, Cole said.
The prosecution rebutted by stating that King had already made the most important decision of Holloway’s life.
“It was anger,” the prosecution told the jury. “It was violence that escalated to murder.”