Royal Farms Security Guard ‘Wanted a Reason’ to Shoot Victim, Prosecutor Says

By Andrew Michaels - August 29, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Marquise Powell, his girlfriend and his sister had recently left a Halloween party around 3:00 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2022, and stopped for some snacks and drinks at a Royal Farms gas station along Washington Boulevard. An argument ensued between Powell and a security guard over the use of the store’s restroom—a confrontation that ended with a bullet to Powell’s head.

Ten months later, 51-year-old Kanisha Spence began her jury trial on Aug. 29 when the prosecution questioned her actions as the security guard that evening on the 1800 block of Washington Boulevard. Defense attorney Roya Hanna represents Spence in this case, with Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Kendra Y. Ausby presiding.

The restroom had closed at 10:00 a.m., according to Hanna. However, the prosecutor explained neither the defendant nor the 26-year-old victim liked the way they were talking to one another.

Spence took out her handgun, kept antagonizing and pointed her weapon at Powell’s face “because she was not going to be disrespected,” said one of the two prosecutors trying the case. “…She kept this going and going and going. She wanted a reason to use that gun.”

Inside the store’s vestibule, Powell’s girlfriend and sister were holding him back when Spence shot Powell in the head.

The prosecutor played Royal Farms security camera footage for the jury that captured the shooting. Seconds after the gunshot fired in the video, a family member of Powell’s openly wept and quickly scurried out of the courtroom, where her painful sobs echoed in the hallway.

Despite the prosecutor’s argument that Spence was itching to pull the trigger, Hanna said her client genuinely feared for her life. During their confrontation, Powell allegedly went outside to his car, put a handgun in his waistband and walked back inside.

“At one point, [Powell] says, ‘If you didn’t have your gun, you wouldn’t be talking to me like this. You don’t know who I am,” Hanna said.

Powell allegedly followed up by saying that, “The next time I see you, there’s gonna be problems.”

The victim yelled at Spence, threatened her and threatened to take her weapon, Hanna said. As the defendant repeatedly asked the victim to leave, Powell’s girlfriend and sister were holding him back.

“We all know he wasn’t there to apologize” after retrieving his gun, Hanna said. “…He was there to cause her physical and bodily harm.”

Spence had no choice but to defend herself, the defense attorney added.

Testimony began mid-Tuesday morning and is expected to continued on Aug. 30.

Spence’s charges including first-degree murder and firearm use in a felony or violent crime.