Police search for Huntsville man in Decatur apartment complex killings
Dec. 13—Authorities are searching for a Huntsville man in connection with the Nov. 27 double homicide at a Southwest Decatur apartment complex, according to Decatur police.
Police are requesting the public's assistance in locating Demarcus Antoine Travis, 40, in an ongoing capital murder investigation.
"At this time, he is considered to be armed and dangerous," police spokeswoman Irene Cardenas-Martinez said.
Police obtained a a capital murder warrant against Travis in the shooting deaths of Codey Ray Schepp, 29, and Quinton Lamon Owens, 42, at Wheeler Estate Apartments, 134 McEntire Lane S.W.
Travis is 5-foot-7 and about 200 pounds.
Police asked that anyone with information on his whereabouts call the Decatur Police Department at 256-341-4644 or an anonymous tip line at 256-341-4636.
Police said the two victims' bodies were discovered in a unit at the apartment complex about 1 p.m. Nov. 27.
Morgan County Coroner Jeff Chunn said the bodies were taken to the state forensics lab in Huntsville, where autopsies were performed.
Police have not said how the victims were connected to the apartment where they were found, but court records show Schepp lived at Wheeler Estates as of July 2022.
Travis was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree robbery in 2006, according to court records. The charge arose from his theft of a 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe and cash in Limestone County on Aug. 26, 2005, according to court records.
In 2012, Madison County authorities charged Travis with attempted murder and first-degree burglary. The court dismissed the charges last year, more than eight years after the alleged incident, when the Madison County District Attorney's Office reported that it had found no evidence corroborating the statements of a witness for the prosecution. The case had never been submitted to a grand jury.
The Madison County DA's office attempted to drop the charges without prejudice, which would have allowed them to re-file the charges later. Madison County Circuit Judge Ruth Ann Hall rejected that effort in a March 2021 order, instead dismissing the charges with prejudice due to her determination that the prosecution had violated Travis' right to a speedy trial. — Other shooting
Meanwhile, Decatur police continue to look for a suspect or suspects in the Nov. 1 fatal shooting of two Decatur residents. Lucia Guardo Mayo, 34, and Uriel Cruz Mayo, 40, were gunned down at their 1604 Chestnut St. S.E. residence in an apparent burglary, police said. Three children were in the house at the time of the shooting, police said.
"No new update" on the killings, Cardenas-Martinez said in a text message Monday afternoon.
Police asked that anyone with information on this double homicide call Detective Jasmin Ferizovic at 256-341-4614 or call the tip line.
— mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel.
