Marco Hicks: Norfolk man receives 32-year prison term for murdering friend in 2022
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
NORFOLK, VIRGINIA: Marco Hicks, a 32-year-old resident of Norfolk, has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for the first-degree murder of his friend, Michael Rivera-Rubert, in 2022.
The tragic incident occurred on the night of September 3, 2022, following a night out at a nightclub.
Marco Hicks fatally shoots friend after parking lot conversation
Hicks and Rivera-Rubert, along with several friends, had parked in an overflow parking lot in the 800 block of North Military Highway. Around 2 am on September 4, 2022, the group returned to the strip mall parking lot, seemingly engaging in normal conversation for about 20 minutes.
However, the situation took a horrific turn when Hicks retrieved a pistol from his car and fatally shot Rivera-Rubert in the head, before fleeing the scene with the group in two vehicles, reported Wavy.
Marco Hicks identified by surveillance videos despite denying the crime
Despite the efforts of a good Samaritan who rushed to help, Rivera-Rubert succumbed to his injuries. Surveillance videos from the strip mall and nearby businesses later identified Hicks by his clothing and a distinctive facial tattoo of a rifle. Upon his arrest, he initially claimed that someone else in the group had shot Rivera-Rubert.
On December 4, 2023, Hicks pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. “The act of murder is serious, and it is permanent,” emphasized Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Mr. Hicks took the victim away from his family forever. While this sentence does not bring back the victim, it holds Mr. Hicks accountable for the harm he has caused. My thoughts are with the victim and his family as they move forward.”
Subsequently, on Friday, April 5, he was sentenced to serve 32 years of a 50-year prison sentence. The suspended time is conditioned on Hicks demonstrating uniform good behavior while incarcerated and completing three years of supervised probation.
