CASSELBERRY, Florida – A judge has ruled that 26-year-old Marquavious T. Wheaton violated his probation by causing a July crash in Casselberry that killed two brothers. The ruling could send him to prison for life before he stands trial on murder charges in the deaths.
Circuit Judge Melissa Souto made the finding November 9. She said Wheaton broke the terms of probation from a 2019 armed-robbery conviction. Souto will consider resentencing him for the robbery at a hearing December 8.
Seminole County prosecutors plan to ask for a life sentence. That is the maximum in Florida for robbery with a firearm.
Wheaton still faces two counts of second-degree murder. Those charges are separate from the probation violation case, and the trial will go forward.
Helicopter video shown in court
Assistant State Attorneys Scott Wood and Stewart Stone showed the court Seminole County Sheriff’s Office helicopter video from July 7. It begins with Wheaton fleeing a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 17-92.
Deputies did not pursue him. The video shows his BMW sedan passing 100 mph, weaving through heavy lunch-hour traffic and running red lights. After several minutes, he T-bones an SUV at the intersection of Sunnytown Road.
The crash killed both people in the SUV instantly. They were 42-year-old Christopher Marier, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Central Florida, and his brother, 40-year-old Tyler Marier.
The State Attorney’s Office upgraded the initial vehicular homicide charges to second-degree murder. Prosecutors cited a “depraved mind” and total disregard for human life in the moments before the crash. Earlier coverage of the case is available in this report on the murder charges.
2019 robbery conviction
Wheaton was convicted in 2019 in Seminole County of robbery with a firearm and tampering with a witness. He received five years in state prison followed by probation.
He wore a GPS ankle monitor when the fatal crash happened. After a brief hospital stay, he has been held without bond in the Seminole County jail.
Souto’s resentencing hearing is set for December 8.