It’s been nearly four years since an aspiring social worker was shot and killed in Northeast D.C. as he drove home from his volunteer job. A bullet meant for another man hit Tom Marmet, a 22-year-old recent college graduate.
The man who fired the shot, Barry Marable, was sentenced on Friday to 14 years in prison as part of a plea deal that shocked the victim’s grieving family.
Marmet’s sister, Sally, was not in the courtroom. It would have been too much, her family said. So her mother read a letter she wrote about her grief and what her brother meant to her and to the world.
Tom Marmet was “spectacularly selfless” and a “pacifist” whose humanity made him “even more lovable,” his older sister wrote.
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Marable’s eyes never left Tom Marmet’s mother as she read.
News4 spoke with the victim’s father, Roger Marmet, outside the courthouse.
“My daughter’s letter expressed that she hoped for a brighter future for the defendant, but we also feel there should be accountability,” he said.
He said the family feels betrayed by prosecutors with the U..S. Attorney’s Office, who they said promised they would not offer Marable a deal better than second-degree murder.
Marable was offered a plea of voluntary manslaughter while armed after rejecting a plea to second-degree murder.
“I don’t know exactly what happened. I’ll never know,” Roger Marmet said. “I do know there is a backlog in this courthouse of hundreds of cases.”
Tom Marmet was driving home from his job at the nonprofit SOME (So Others Might Eat) on Oct. 24, 2018, when he was hit in the neck in the 1200 block of 17th Street NE, just east of busy Bladensburg Road NE, by a bullet fired from a nearby alley.
Marable admitted to firing that shot and three others.
Tom Marmet would have made an impact in D.C. and beyond, his father said Friday.
“Tom Marmet, my son, my best friend, was and still is a force for good in our community,” his father said. “He was born in D.C., he loved this city, he wanted to make it his home for the rest of his life and wanted to reach those who suffered the most from racial injustice, social marginalization.”
Tom Marmet grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland; attended the D.C. prep school the Maret School and had graduated from the University of Vermont months before he was killed. He played football and lacrosse, and devoted time to helping others.
Marable got emotional when the judge gave him an opportunity to speak, breaking down in tears and lying his head on the shoulder of his defense attorney, telling the court and the Marmet family that he was so sorry for what he did. He said he would spend the rest of his life trying to make up for his mistakes.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office sent News4 a statement explaining the plea deal.
“The U.S. Attorney’s office typically analyzes many factors in plea discussions, including the facts of the case, the evidence, the investigation, relevant case law, and concerns of the victim’s family. The office typically does not comment on specific cases and has no comment beyond what was stated in court regarding this particular plea. The office recognizes the sensitive nature of plea agreements and extends its deepest condolences to the family of Tom Marmet for their tragic loss,” the statement said.
