Man Who Shot “Date” He Met Online Sentenced To 25 Years In Prison

PANAMA CITY, FL - An Alabama man who unsuccessfully claimed he was expecting to meet a woman he found on a social media app was sentenced to 25 years in prison Thursday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced. 

Marques Isaiah Player, of Sylacuaga, Ala., was found guilty of Aggravated Battery with a Firearm (great bodily injury) after Prosecutor Frank Sullivan presented the case during a 1-day trial Nov. 5. Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark handed down the sentence Thursday.

“This case presents a cautionary tale about meeting and “hooking up” with random strangers you meet on dating apps,” Sullivan said following the trial. “Not everyone on the internet is who they claim to be, and that can be dangerous for both parties. Mr. Player has 25 years to think about that.”

Part of Player’s defense was that he thought he was messaging with a woman on social media apps in the hours before the May 1, 2022, shooting. But the evidence made it clear he knew the victim was a man.

They agreed to meet at the defendant’s beach motel room. The defendant claimed it was only when he got in the truck that he realized it was a man, and he fired a shot out of fear when he saw an empty gun holster in the truck. The Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigation, however, showed through texts and messages that the defendant knew he was a meeting a man before  the victim arrived. And jurors agreed.

Surveillance video showed that the victim pulled into the hotel parking lot and sat there for several minutes. The defendant is seen leaving his hotel room, pulling a gun from his pants pocket, racking a round into the chamber and then putting the gun back in his pocket before eventually walking over to the victim’s vehicle.

The defendant is seen opening the passenger door of the victim’s truck but only remaining for seconds before shooting the victim and running away on foot. The victim was able to call 911 for assistance while the defendant and a friend fled in the friend’s Jeep. The Sheriff’s Office’s BAYROC monitoring system was used to show it crossed the Hathaway Bridge headed into Panama City minutes after the shooting. At 4:02 a.m. the vehicle, and the suspects, were found and taken into custody at a gas station near 23rd Street and U.S. 231. The gun used in the shooting was in the vehicle.

Basford thanked the Sheriff’s Office for its work on the case and the quick arrest.