JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The man shot by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officers after allegedly holding a woman and her infant hostage inside a Southside home had been arrested twice earlier this year on alcohol-related charges.
News4JAX has learned that Marcus Delay, 30, was arrested by Oklahoma County Sheriff’s deputies in January for public drunkenness and again in February for driving under the influence — just months before the violent standoff.
Delay and his partner had recently moved to Jacksonville in the spring. According to his social media account, Delay owned a pest control company before the move.
Investigators say alcohol was again a contributing factor the night of the standoff. A neighbor, who asked not to be identified, says he had interacted with Delay before and had managed to calm him down during prior episodes.
“And yeah, he was pissed, he’s drunk. He’s drunk, he has a religious drunk, he drinks all the time. But I mean, he actually, if you talk to him, I done talked him down a couple of times. Hey man, chill dude, you calm down, you’re drunk, you got cause and problems. And he actually come back,” the neighbor said.
Standoff escalates to gunfire
While the neighbor questioned whether deadly force was necessary, police say the situation escalated rapidly. According to JSO, Delay fired a rifle into the air while searching for his partner, who had escaped the home and fled into nearby woods with her 9-month-old baby.
Police say Delay then located his partner and child in the woods before pointing a handgun directly at responding officers.
“He’s walking towards the victim and the officers, and he points a gun at them. We have two officers that fired their weapons at the suspect,” said Chief Hall.
Delay had also allegedly threatened to kill his partner and everyone present if officers arrived on scene. Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters defended the use of deadly force, saying it likely saved lives.
“I believe they saved a couple of lives tonight. It’s a really dangerous and tense situation, and he was actively walking around looking for the victim and the child, and he made a statement that he was going to kill everyone. That was a very dangerous situation,” Waters said.
10th JSO-involved shooting this year
The incident marks the 10th officer-involved shooting for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office this year. Last year, JSO recorded 17 officer-involved shootings, 11 of which were fatal.
Delay is currently being treated for his injuries at an area hospital.