Woman testifies ex-boyfriend waited all day to kill 3 men in Daytona Beach and said she would be next

Marcus Pinckney told his girlfriend he had been waiting all day to kill three men, the woman testified Monday at his murder trial.

Christy Armstrong also testified that Pinckney said after he killed the men, he was going to torture and kill her.

“He's telling me that he’s been waiting all day to do this,” Armstrong said. “He's going to shoot and kill those three people."

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The 44-year-old Pinckney carried out his plot, but managed to kill only one of the men, prosecutors said during his trial before Circuit Judge James Clayton at the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand.

Pinckney was charged with first-degree murder with a firearm in the killing of Tracy Height, 57. If convicted, Pinckney could face the death penalty.

Pinckney was also charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm in the shooting of Height’s son, 27-year-old Trevon Height, and a third man named Robert Singleton. He is also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and kidnapping with a firearm.

The deadly gunfire erupted early on the morning of July 19, 2018, in the parking lot of the Sun Plaza Motel at 1011 S. Ridgewood Ave., in Daytona Beach. Pinckney was a drug dealer who believed the three men were ripping him off of drugs and money.

Armstrong recalled the terrifying night under questioning by Assistant State Attorney Jason Lewis, who is prosecuting the case along with Andrew Urbanak.

Shortly after 1 that morning, Pinckney called Armstrong, who was “Ubering,” working for the ride-share company.

She went to meet him in her Mazda 6 at his grandmother's property on Tennessee Street.

Pinckney accused her of being unfaithful, which she denied. When a car approached on the street, Pinckney pointed a gun at her and threatened to shoot her if she moved, she testified.

He then used a cellphone charger cord to tie up her hands, binding he would later reinforce with a belt. He also tied up her feet. Pinckney moved her to the passenger seat, which he reclined. He took off his T-shirt, cut it up and used it to gag her, she said.

He told her he had been waiting all day to shoot the men. And he also told her something else.

“The last thing that he said he was going to do to me is take me to a secluded place and torture me and kill me,” Armstrong said as her voice trembled.

Armstrong, a single mom, said she was worried and scared and wondered who would raise her daughter. She said she was upset and crying.

He planned to get the three men close together

Pinckney drove to the Sun Plaza Motel. Armstrong said that since the seat was reclined, she could only see a fragment of what was happening but she recalled his plan.

"His plan was to get these three people close together so that when he stopped the car … he'd be able to shoot all three in close range," Armstrong said.

She said when they got to the motel, Pinckney yelled that he was on a personal call because she believed someone was approaching the car.

When the men came over, Armstrong testified Pinckney placed the gun low so the men could not see it.

She said she saw a person approach the car, but could not say who it was.

"Do you see Marcus do anything to that person?" Lewis asked.

“I see Marcus shoot him, uh, directly in the head,” Armstrong said. "And the person fell."

She said the other two people fled. She was not able to see, but she heard five gunshots.

She heard a high-pitched scream, which she said sounded like a female. Then Pinckney got back in the car and drove away with her still tied and gagged.

“I just felt like it was my turn. I'm just seeing my life flash before my eyes,” she said.

She said Pinckney seemed upset.

She said they eventually drove to Bunnell where they stopped at a gas station and Pinckney untied and ungagged her so she could buy some gas, and get him some water and a cigar.

She said Pinckney let her go around 6 a.m. at Bill France and Clyde Morris boulevards, back in Daytona Beach.

She said Pinckney told her he was not going to hurt her or her daughter because her daughter reminded him of his youngest daughter.

Pinckney also suggested if a reward was offered that she should claim it and give the money to his kids.

"He gave me a kiss, I believe, and then he sped off," Armstrong said.

Pinckney did not betray any emotions while his ex-girlfriend testified. He appeared to look straight ahead as he sat with his attorneys, Terence Lenamon, Jessica Manuele and Joyce Brenner.

When Lenamon asked Armstrong whether, after Pinckney’s arrest, she would still tell him that she loved him, missed him and he was still important to her, she said she did.

She agreed with Lenamon that Pinckney on the night of the killings was not acting like himself.

She said Pinckney had never hit her before that night. Under questioning by Lewis, she said he punched her in the right eye inside the car.

Armstrong agreed when Lenamon said that Pinckney was paranoid and was not acting himself and had been sleeping with a gun under his bed.

Lenamon said that after Pinckney dropped her off, she could have taken the binding off her hands and the gag out of her mouth, but she wanted police to see them. Armstrong agreed.

Armstrong said that even though she and Pinckney had fought a few days before the incident, she still hoped to reconcile.

She said Pinckney had some college credit and she was hoping he would leave drug dealing and finish his college education.

Armstrong said she knew he was a drug dealer and he would give her money to help her with the bills. But she said she did not know he was using drugs until the night of the shooting when he used cocaine in front of her.

“He wasn’t a good drug dealer, was he?” Lenamon asked

“No,” Armstrong said and smiled.

“He didn’t even have a car; he used your car,” Lenamon said.

The trial continues Tuesday.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida man's ex-girlfriend testifies he planned to kill her