Students shocked at arrest of Marcos Bryant for murder

Marcos Devon Bryant, a 23-year-old business administration major at WSSU, has been arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Winston-Salem police arrested Bryant on Tuesday, Feb. 7, according to an Associated Press story that quoted university spokesman Aaron Singleton.

"It looks like he was in a class, and they asked him to step outside the classroom, and that's when they made the arrest," Singleton said.

Bryant is a suspect in connection with the deaths of William "Slim" Miller, 23, and Marcus "Beek" Anthony Wilson, Jr., 19.

Wilson and Miller were found dead early on Jan. 18 in the 2100 block of East First Street, where residents reported hearing gunshots. One body was found in a back yard, and another was in a nearby empty lot.

The Winston-Salem Journal reported on Feb. 15 that Bryant bought three boes of Winchester and one box of Remington cartridges from the Wal-Mart on Kester Mill Road on the night the two men were shot to death. The Journal obtained the information from a search-warrant application Winston-Salem police filed in the case.

Police did not say what led them to Bryant or whether they are searching for any other suspects. He was arrested without incident.

Students who know Bryant expressed disbelief that he could be connected to a double homicide.

A Facebook.com entry by J. Lee Woodruff showed Bryant's image as it appeared on local TV news and encouraged students to post messages about the situation and even write to Bryant.

"I [am] doing this for my nig to make sure people don't forget about my SC folk," Woodruff said in Facebook.com message posted on his wall Feb. 11. "I love Marcos and it hurts me every time I think of this stupid sh-t. Y'all keep my nig in mind..."

Cedric Ellington, a 2004 WSSU graduate, posted a message that said Bryant was in his prayers and he encouraged Bryant to stay up.

"It seems out of his character," Sabria Fields, a junior enrolled in a business class with Bryant, said in an article in the Winston-Salem Journal.

Fields described him as "always active, answering questions in class."

After Bryant's arrest, Chancellor Harold L. Martin ssued a statement by e-mail to the campus community on Feb. 10.

"WSSU has reevaluated all procedures, including our admissions processes, to assess the implications of this matter on the safety of our campus community," Martin said in the statement.

"Nothing we have been able to discover to date regarding this student leads us to believe that our guidelines and procedures were inadequate," he said.

"We will continue to provide, as needed, updates on our activities to keep our students and the entire campus community safe."

Roderick F. Perry, Bryant's roommate, has also been arrested in connection to the double homicide. The 22-year-old was arrested Feb. 23 in Raleigh and has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, according to a Winston-Salem Journal report.