Charges Filed in 2007 Homicide that Caught Mayor's Attention

The Aug. 18, 2007 shooting death of Charles Marshall was one of three to occur within months in a single-block stretch of apartments on the city's Westside.

Charles Lawrence Marshall (Special to the Press-Enterprise)

It was the only one in which a suspect had not been charged -- until Monday.

Two teens were both charged with murder in connection with the 22-year-old Marshall's death, according to criminal complaint filed in San Bernardino Superior Court. Todd Jose Tibbs, 19, of San Bernardino, and Brandon Parks Burns, 16, of Inglewood, also face special allegations of firearms use. Burns is being prosecuted as an adult.

Tibbs fired at Marshall with a handgun and Burns used a shotgun, the complaint states. Marshall, who was nicknamed "Styles," was found shot directly outside his apartment. He had just returned home with his young daughter and put her to sleep minutes before the shooting, family has said.

Detectives said at the time that Marshall may have been targeted by gang members in connection with a drug dispute involving a relative. He was believed to have done nothing to prompt the attacks.

On Monday, police announced that San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris and police Chief Michael Billdt personally notified Marshall's mother, Judith Little, of the charges being filed. According to a story written by my colleague Chris Richard last year, Morris first heard from Little when she told the City Council about alleged police brutality at a vigil for Marshall.

Tibbs is already in jail on charges of attempted murder stemming from an unrelated shooting two weeks after Marshall's slaying, police said. In that case, Tibbs is accused of shooting someone named Sequwan Marshall on Sept. 7, in benefit of a street gang, according to a complaint filed in court. It wasn't immediately clear whether the man is related to Charles Lawrence Marshall.

Burns was arrested in Inglewood, police said.