The Case of Marquis Demps

Marquis Lavar Demps, 42, was shot and killed outside a Shell gas station in East Austin on January 21, 2023. Demps had been involved in a physical altercation inside the store before leaving. Employee Yaseen Naz followed him into the parking lot and fired multiple rounds through the closed window of Demps' vehicle. Naz claimed self-defense but was convicted of murder in 2025 and sentenced to five years in prison.

Marquis Demps was 42 years old and was visiting the Shell station at 4509 East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Austin on the night of January 21, 2023. Yaseen Naz, then 25, was working at the station. Shortly after 11 p.m., a confrontation developed between Demps and employees inside the store. The dispute became physical, and Demps subsequently left the store. Naz later told police that Demps had displayed a knife during the confrontation and that he feared Demps would return with a firearm.

fter the confrontation inside the store, Demps left and walked toward his vehicle. Surveillance footage showed Naz following him into the parking lot, accompanied by another employee. Demps entered his vehicle and closed the driver's-side door. Naz then fired multiple rounds through the closed driver's-side window, striking Demps several times. Demps was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds inside his vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. The surveillance footage became central to the case because it showed Demps attempting to leave before Naz approached and fired into the vehicle.

Austin police determined that Demps had been involved in the earlier physical altercation with Naz. Naz told investigators that Demps had produced a knife during the confrontation. Naz said he retrieved a handgun from behind the counter and told Demps to leave. According to the police investigation, Demps then left the store and went toward his vehicle. Naz followed him outside. Investigators reviewed the gas station's surveillance footage and concluded that Naz fired multiple rounds into Demps' vehicle while Demps was seated inside with the door closed. Naz was arrested on January 22, 2023, and charged with murder. The defense argued that Naz had acted in self-defense, pointing to the earlier confrontation and Demps' alleged possession of a knife. The prosecution argued that whatever threat had existed inside the store had ended once Demps left and that Naz's decision to pursue him into the parking lot and shoot through the vehicle window was not justified self-defense.

A Travis County jury convicted Yaseen Naz of murder on September 19, 2025. During the punishment phase, the jury found sufficient evidence of sudden passion, which reduced the applicable punishment. On September 23, 2025, Naz was sentenced to five years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

The case centred on the distinction between self-defense during an active confrontation and the use of deadly force after the confrontation had moved outside the store. Surveillance footage was particularly important because it showed Demps entering his vehicle before Naz fired multiple rounds through the closed window.