VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A man was sentenced to 23 years in prison for a 2023 triple shooting at a ugly Christmas sweater party, according to the Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney.
Marquise Bunn, previously a convicted felon, was found guilty of second degree murder and use of a firearm on June 1. He was sentenced to 43 years in prison with 20 years suspended.
Bunn showed up to a Christmas party on Riverbend Road, hosted by his cousin, with his girlfriend and sister on Christmas Eve 2023 when two people began play fighting outside, according to the VBCA.
Another partygoer, Antonio Wolfe, believed it was a serious fight and tried to break it up, causing it to escalate into a real fight. The fight broke up after the homeowner asked everyone to leave, but one person got out of the car and started fighting Wolfe again.
Watch previous coverage: Man convicted of murder stemming from Virginia Beach ugly Christmas sweater party triple shooting
Two other people helped Wolfe with an uninvolved partygoer in a wheelchair shot the instigator, which ended the fight, according to the VBCA. Bunn then pulled out a gun, shot the wheelchair-bound man in the head, then fired the gun six more times.
Wolfe was hit four times, including once in the back, and he died at the scene. The wheelchair-bound man and the initial attacker both survived. Bunn and his girlfriend ran away and hid at a hotel, according to the VBCA.
Bunn and his girlfriend, Carmen Prescott, hid out at various hotels and residences to avoid the police for the next few days, until Bunn arrested during a house search, according to the VBCA. Police found a magazine with bullets matching shell cases from the crime scene.
While in jail, Bunn told another inmate that he shot Wolfe and the man in the wheelchair, then told his girlfriend to put the gun in a black bag and hide it at a family member's house, according to the VBCA.
Prescott was arrested on May 29 for accessory after the fact for murder and concealment of evidence, and is awaiting trial.
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