Jurors convict man who shoved cell phone down woman's throat

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- A man accused of shoving a cell phone down a woman's throat was convicted Saturday of second-degree domestic assault.

The charge, the lesser of two that jurors considered, carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison. If jurors had convicted him of first-degree domestic assault, Marlon Brando Gill could have faced up to life in prison.

Jurors deliberated for about 12 hours -- 11 hours Friday and one hour Saturday -- before reaching their verdict.

However, the jurors could not agree on a sentence, which means that decision will be left up to Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Michael W. Manners. He has ordered a pre-sentence investigation and plans to make his decision later.

Jackson County prosecutors said Gill, 25, of Kansas City, had a history of abusing his former girlfriend, Melinda Abell, before he forced the cell phone into her mouth in December 2005 while they were arguing in a car.

Abell, of Blue Springs, was rushed to a hospital where doctors removed the phone. Doctors said she nearly died of a blocked airway.

The defense said Abell was drunk and tried to swallow the phone to prevent Gill from finding out whom she had been calling.

"The 911 tape showed that Mr. Gill's emotion and concern was real and raw," said Wm. David Langston, Gill's attorney, in a prepared statement. "It was not the voice of a guilty man. He was desperately trying to help save her life. She had no memory of what happened, but as news got out and the jokes began developing on late night TV, the blame turned to Mr. Gill."

But a state witness testified that injuries to Abell's mouth were consistent with the phone being forced into her throat. And lead prosecutor Tammy Dickinson called witnesses to testify that Gill was abusive to Abell.

Abell wrote in a statement to police after the incident: "I think he thought I'd been talking to other guys. ... He took my phone to see who I had been calling. ... If I didn't want him to see my phone, I would have just thrown it out the window and busted it."

It was the second trial for Gill, who has been jailed since his arrest more than a year ago. Jurors in July were unable to reach a verdict. During the first trial, jurors considered only the first-degree domestic assault charge.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jim Kanatzar said he was "very pleased" with the verdict.

"I hope the verdict will send the message that the Jackson County prosecutor's office will do whatever it takes to ensure people who commit violent crimes against women will have to answer for their actions and face justice," Kanatzar said.