Damon E. Wylie will face first-degree murder charge for death of Marcus L. Miles
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Damon E. Wylie was held for trial in the fatal stabbing of Marcus Miles on July 27.
A prosecution witness broke down in tears several times at the preliminary hearing for a 46-year-old murder defendant.
The woman, who is not being identified for her safety, said she watched Damon E. Wylie repeatedly punching Marcus L. “Scoop” Miles, 41, who yelled: “He’s stabbing me; he’s stabbing me.” Minutes later, Miles collapsed in the 700 block of East Diamond Alley in Coatesville; he died a couple of hours later at Paoli Memorial Hospital, police said.
After hearing testimony from the woman as well as Coatesville Police Det. Ryan Wright and argument from both sides, Magisterial District Judge Gregory V. Hines said he found sufficient evidence to substantiate the charges, including first-degree murder.
Assistant Public Defender Sheryl Willson had argued that the evidence did not support a first-degree murder charge. “Mr. Wylie was not the aggressor … He was doing everything to avoid a physical confrontation with Mr. Miles,” Willson said.
The witness, who said she had been friends with both men for about 13 years, testified that she was with Wylie on the street when Miles approached and shoved Wylie into a brick wall. She said Wylie kept saying: “C’mon, cuz; I love you, cuz; what’s going on?”
The woman said Wylie tried to escape by running into a home under construction, but Miles followed him and the two engaged in a shoving match. She said she did not know what sparked the dispute.
At one point Wylie “put his hand up” but was not successful in keeping Miles at bay, she testified. After Miles exclaimed that he was being stabbed, the woman said she saw what appeared to be orange-handled scissors in Wylie’s hand.
“Did Damon stop” the stabbing after Miles called out? asked Assistant District Attorney Bonnie Cox-Shaw. The woman said no. She said she stayed with Miles until police arrived, held his hand, and kept telling him how much he was loved.
Cox-Shaw argued that the intent required for a first-degree murder charge can form in an instant. She said the ferocity of the attack – 15 stab wounds, including one to the head – demonstrated a level of violence consistent with the specific intent to kill.
Wylie, who has a criminal history dating back to 1985, shook his head and then covered his face in his hands as Hines issued his decision.
According to his criminal complaint, Wylie was taken into custody several days after the homicide at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Delaware County, where he was being treated “for injuries consistent with holding and using scissors as a weapon.” Investigators found a pair of blood-stained scissors in a nearby trash can, the complaint said.
