Former Marine Fatally Shot While Protecting Fiancée: Police Report

Two men allegedly shot a Marine veteran to death in the parking garage of a Texas mall after they disrespected the victim”s fiancee.

Marko Cinan, 23, and Justin Joshua Guzman, 22, are charged with murder following the death of Anthony Sanders, a 30-year-old Marine veteran, who was killed in the parking garage of the Galleria Mall in Houston.

Police were first called to respond to reports of a shooting at the mall around 5 p.m. on June 3.

As per a probable cause arrest affidavit, Sanders’ fiancée informed detectives that he was there to pick her up from work on the night of the shooting. She got into an elevator with a group of men, including the defendants, as she was leaving the mall, but she did not know them. Her statement indicated that the men posed a question to her, which she chose to ignore. Following this, one of them allegedly insulted her with “stupid ugly b—.” After leaving the elevator, she met Sanders on a different floor.

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The fiancee detailed what had transpired to Sanders, who then drove around the parking garage, with their child also in the car, to find the men, the affidavit said. He saw the men and drove up to them. Sanders and the defendants had a verbal exchange before returning to their respective cars. While exiting the parking garage, the suspects were passengers in a Chrysler 300 in front of Sanders when the driver “brake-checked” the alleged victim. The suspects and Sanders then got out of their cars, cops said.

Guzman allegedly tapped his bag and said, “you don’t want to mess with me.” That’s when Guzman and Cinan pulled out guns and started shooting Sanders, according to the affidavit. The suspects allegedly fired at least 14 times.

After the shooting, cops working at the mall converged on the scene. They saw Sanders’ fiancee screaming for help. Paramedics rushed Sanders to the hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. His fiancee and their son were not injured in the shooting.

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Guzman and Cinan sped away but were apprehended a short time later. When Guzman stepped out of the car, at least two spent cartridges fell off his lap, cops noted. The Chrysler was riddled with bullet holes as the suspects kept firing as they were driving away, according to police.

Police initially let the defendants go, as the investigation was in its infant stages.

When detectives later spoke with Guzman and Cinan, they allegedly claimed the shooting was in self-defense. According to the affidavit, Guzman told detectives they were leaving the mall when Sanders came “on their tail.” He said they pulled over and got out of their car to wave Sanders past them. But Guzman claimed that Sanders started threatening them, saying “I’ll f— y’all up,” “Ya’ll are p—ies” and “I’ll do it to y’all right here.” The defendant told cops Sanders had a gun and knife on him — but investigators found no weapons on the victim, the affidavit stated.

The victim’s parents, veterans themselves, spoke with local CBS affiliate KHOU.