Man killed son of retired Durham deputy police chief in self-defense, attorney argues

A judge drastically reduced bail for two people charged in the killing of a retired deputy police chief’s son after defense attorneys argued the dead man was the aggressor and police failed to interview key witnesses.

“It’s very seldom in a murder case that we sit for a preliminary bond hearing really wondering why our client is charged with murder,” Bill Thomas, an attorney for Toney Allen Smith Jr., said at the start of a hearing Thursday.

Smith, 21, and Nitisha Jewel Page, 39, are charged in the death of Anthony “A.J.” Marsh Jr., 27, whom police found shot inside a car April 19 on East Pilot Street. Marsh, the son of Anthony Marsh Sr., a retired Durham deputy police chief, died later at a hospital.

Page and Smith were both charged with murder, but Page’s charges have since been downgraded to accessory after the fact of murder, a Class C felony.

$1 million bond to $100,000

At the start of the hearing, Page was being held on $1 million bail and Smith wasn’t eligible to be released from jail. Durham County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson reduced Page’s bail to $50,000, the recommended minimum on the charge under the county’s bond policy.

Hudson reduced Smith’s bail to $100,000, a low amount for a recent murder charge. The two would be subject to electronic monitoring, if released. Hudson didn’t directly say why he reduced the bail bond amounts, but such reductions can indicate a judge sees potential weaknesses in a case or doesn’t consider the defendants dangers to the public.

During the hearing, Page and Smith both sat at the defense table wearing orange jail scrubs, handcuffs and shackles.

As Hudson announced his decision, members of Marsh’s family, including his parents, shook their heads no. Anthony Marsh Sr. declined to comment after the hearing.

Hudson’s decision followed prosecutors and defense attorneys presenting new details and competing narratives. in the case.

Mash graduated from Jordan High in 2012 and attended N.C. A&T State University until he joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 2015, a prosecutor said.

He was scheduled to begin taking classes in Vance-Granville Community College’s X-ray technician program in May.

Teen fight

“On April 19, 2021, Anthony Ray Marsh Jr. was senselessly and violently taken from his family at the hands of Toney Smith Jr. and Nitisha Page,” said Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Ingram.

Earlier that day, Ingram said, Page’s 16-year-old daughter had a disagreement with two other teens in person and on Instagram.

Page and her daughter then gathered a group of people, including Smith, to go to one of the girls’ homes, Ingram said. A fight broke out after someone from Page’s car spit on one of the teens in another car.

When the mother of one of the other girls drove up, Page and her daughter got back in the Lexus and tried to leave, the prosecutor said. She struck Marsh’s white Ram, which was parked in front of another home, Ingram said.

Marsh, who wasn’t involved in the fight but was standing outside, saw his truck get hit, Ingram said. He grabbed his keys and followed Page’s white Lexus.

Page’s car stopped, and Marsh drove his truck to the front of Page’s car, the prosecutor said.

“He then got out of his truck to ask ‘Why did you hit my car,’ ” Ingram said.

Smith, who was in the backseat pointing a gun at one of the teen’s mothers in a car behind them, then turned his gun on Marsh and fired multiple rounds into Marsh’s truck, Ingram said.

Marsh collapsed and crawled back to his Ram, she said, where he got his gun and fired two shots.

Smith shot at Marsh again, Ingram said, striking him in his head.

“Toney Smith Jr. brought a gun to a girl fight,” she said. “Toney Smith Jr. did not hesitate to point that gun at a completely innocent man and fire multiple times. He is dangerous.”

Ingram asked Hudson to set bail at $750,000 for Smith, who was charged with carrying a concealed weapons three weeks before the shooting.

Page may not have fired the weapon, Ingram said, but she set the scene for the crime, watched as it unfolded and drove away after it happened, taking Smith to his car so that he could drive away.

“Nitisha Page was the one who started all of this, and Toney Smith finished it,” she said.

Ingram asked Hudson to set Page’s bail at $500,000.

The defense’s different version

Smith’s and Page’s attorneys told a different story. They argued that Marsh chased Page’s car, pinned it in and then shot a gun multiple times.

“Our preliminary investigation into this case has indicated that the decedent was the aggressor,” said Thomas

Marsh wasn’t at the scene by accident, Thomas said.

“He was the muscle,” Thomas said. “He was there with a loaded firearm. He was there to take care of business.”

Page’s attorney, Bill Finn Jr., said Page drove over one of the girl’s home to help the teens, who had been close friends, patch things up.

Page left quickly after several other cars showed up, with people walking toward her carrying guns and others banging on her car.

“Miss Page is trying to leave the scene before anything violent happened,” Finn said. “It is at that point in time that the decedent stops her from leaving.”

Independent eye witnesses verified that Marsh was the one who was shooting, Thomas said, which is also supported by other physical and medical evidence.

“(Prosecutors) have obviously bought into a version of these facts that is simply not true,” Thomas said.

Thomas said he is surprised that the investigators haven’t spoken to all the witnesses, including ones that defense attorneys found and interviewed.

Assistant District Attorney Mike Wallace shot back and said he has no evidence showing self defense.

“Our facts, your honor, can be backed up,” he said. “The police department did their work. They did it quietly and efficiently to make sure that this was a good arrest.”

Both Page and Smith remained in the Durham County jail as of 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

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