A tragic double homicide on the on-ramp of I-476 from I-95 in Ridley Township earlier this year may have resulted from an accidental shooting, according to court documents.
Pennsylvania State Police announced the arrest Monday of Marquice N. Pierce, 32, of the 600 block of Central Avenue in Chester, for the Sept. 13 deaths of 29-year-old Clinton Martin of Lansdowne, and 33-year-old Joshua Waltz of Odessa, Del.
A tipster allegedly told investigators they overheard people talking about the shooting and that a person identified as “Mar” or “Marquice” told people it was an accident.
The background
State police Media station commander Lt. Jonathan Sunderlin said at a press conference seeking the public’s help with the case in September that troopers came across two vehicles partially blocking the right lanes on the 476 ramp just prior to Exit 1 at MacDade Boulevard shortly before 10 p.m. on Sept. 13.
One was a blue 2010 Mazda 5 driven by Martin and the other was a gray 2010 Chevrolet Malibu, Waltz's vehicle.
Both men were declared dead at the scene. It was initially described as a two-vehicle crash, but investigators soon determined Martin had actually been shot in the neck through his driver’s side window, probably just prior to the crash.
Troopers believe the injury caused Martin’s vehicle to veer to the right and collide with a concrete barrier/guard rail. The Mazda continued along the wall for approximately a quarter-mile before striking Waltz, pinning him under the Mazda and killing him.
Sunderlin said Waltz was en route from Delaware to North East Philadelphia to visit a friend that night when he struck debris in the roadway and had to pull over. Waltz was standing outside the Malibu behind the trunk when the collision occurred.
Martin had just finished up his shift at Dollar General and was heading home, Sunderlin said.
Cameras spot a suspect
State police had little to go on in the case and had asked for the public’s assistance about a week after the incident.
A reward for information leading to an arrest was bumped up from $4,000 to $10,000 a few days later.
According to an affidavit of probable cause for Pierce’s arrest written by troopers John Hanosek and Hansley Thomas:
State police found a bullet hole in the driver’s side of the Mazda and recovered a projectile from the rear sliding door of the vehicle, which was a minivan at the time.
Evidence from the crash site revealed the Mazda was traveling on the ramp when it collided with the right-hand concrete barrier. This caused the right front tire on the Mazda to fail and the Mazda to leave a 700-foot scrape along the wall until it impacted with Waltz and the Malibu.
It appeared that Martin was already on the ramp to I-476 northbound when he was struck in the neck, causing him to lose control.
Thomas queried automated license plate readers in the area on Sept. 14 to try to identify a possible route Martin was traveling that night and got three hits in Chester.
Martin’s vehicle passed by a reader at Ninth and Kerlin streets twice, at 9:32 p.m. and 9:38 p.m., both times heading northbound. The third hit came at 9:39 p.m. at Ninth Street and Avenue of the States, as Martin’s vehicle was heading in the direction of I-95 northbound.
Thomas noted a black Hyundai Azera was traveling directly behind Martin’s vehicle as it passed through these plate readers and was directly behind Martin when he entered I-95 northbound from Exit 6 in Chester.
The Azera was registered to Pierce with a Chester address.
Hanosek and fellow Trooper William Corvese went to that address Sept. 16 and spoke with Pierce, who admitted to driving his 2012 Azera on I-95 northbound at about the time of Martin’s murder.
Pierce said he did not hear gunshots and did not see a crash.
He told the troopers he drove to a friend’s house in Springfield that night, then drove back to Chester using back roads and did not use any highways to return to the city. Pierce said he was the only person in the Azera that night.
Tipster calls in
PSP received a call from a witness Oct. 11 who reported that they had overheard people talking about the shooting the day after it occurred and identified a possible shooter as “Mar” or “Marquice.”
The tipster said the shooter claimed it was an accident and that they had dropped the gun in a sewer drain in Swarthmore.
Thomas, Corvese and Trooper Henry Kim with the forensics unit canvassed likely sewer drains where Pierce might have stopped after getting off I-476. Thomas found a shopping bag in a sewer drain at Chester Road and College Avenue in Springfield.
The bag contained a 9 mm Smith and Wesson that was reported stolen out of New Castle County in 2019.
Delaware County Detective Louis Grandizio, a tool-markings and firearms expert, conducted a microscopic examination of the recovered firearm and bullet found in Martin’s vehicle, and determined the bullet was fired by the weapon found in the sewer.
Kim also swabbed the firearm and the bullet found in Martin’s car for DNA evidence.
The tipster was also interviewed at the Media station and reiterated what they had heard about the shooting and the gun being ditched in a Swarthmore sewer. They stated that Marquice was not “in the streets,” but is from Chester and drives a dark sedan.
Technology confirms
Hanosek secured a search warrant for the Azera and Chester police conducted a traffic stop on Pierce in the city at about 1 p.m. Oct. 12. Troopers came to the scene and Pierce agreed to participate in a second interview at the Chester Police Department.
Pierce allegedly waived his Miranda rights and agreed to answer questions, again confirming his movements the night of the shooting, as well as his cellphone number and phone service provider.
At the same time, Kim executed the search warrant on the Azera and performed gunshot residue testing, which was sent to the PSP crime lab for analysis. Those results came back Oct. 23 and showed “characteristic particles of gunshot residue” on the headliner, passenger seat and right interior trim panel.
Hanosek tapped Trooper Galen Clemons of the Cellular Analysis Technicians Unit to investigate records for Pierce’s cellphone number. Those records showed Pierce’s phone was in the same area as Martin prior to and during the shooting, and that the phone traveled to the same location where the firearm was recovered immediately after the shooting.
Hanosek also secured a search warrant to collect DNA swabs from Pierce on Oct. 24. The samples were collected the same day and sent to the crime lab for analysis with the swabs taken from the bullet and handgun.
Hanosek received the DNA report back Dec. 4, which showed Pierce’s DNA was included in a profile found on the handgun and a magazine found with the gun. Hanosek found Pierce is not licensed to carry a firearm and is legally barred from possessing a firearm due to a prior felony conviction.
Pierce is charged with two counts of criminal homicide, one count of first-degree murder and two counts of third-degree murder, as well as firearms offenses and receiving stolen property.
He was taken into custody about 1:15 p.m. Monday and was later arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Andrew Goldberg, who denied bail. Pierce is currently in custody at the county jail in concord awaiting a Dec. 20 preliminary hearing. No defense attorney is listed on online court records.