Moore

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A local man admitted on Saturday morning that he shot and killed former Powhatan Point mayor and businessman Marvin Brown during a home invasion on Nov. 18, 2013.

Brown’s grieving family members are not satisfied that the case is closed, though, and said they expect to see more suspects face charges in the suspected murder-for-hire plot.

Steven Moore, 38, of 5495 Cove Road, Powhatan Point appeared before Belmont County Common Pleas Judge John Vavra in the courtroom of the Belmont County Jail on Saturday morning. He pleaded guilty to aggravated murder with a firearm specification and to aggravated burglary with a firearm specification. He will be sentenced for these crimes on April 29.

Vavra said Moore faces a sentence of life without parole for the murder charge and an additional 11 years for the burglary charge. Three more years could be added for each gun specification; if that occurs, those terms would be served first.

Moore had been scheduled to go to trial on Monday. He was arraigned in June 2018 and has appeared in court several times, including for a motion hearing in August where his defense attorney, Chase Mallory, asked that Moore’s video confession be suppressed. Vavra denied that motion.

During a March interview by investigators that was recorded on video, Moore initially said he had been in Brown’s home with another individual when the murder occurred, but only in a lookout capacity. However, Moore eventually confessed to shooting Brown to death.

Marvin Brown’s three sons and their families were present for the proceedings Saturday. They spoke about the emotional toll of the murder and their continuing effort to see justice done.

“There’s really not a lot of closure today. It’s really the beginning,” Mike Brown, from Atlanta, said. “It’s been five years. We’re excited things are starting to come together. We’ve got three other people involved.”

He added that he hopes to see more indictments and resolutions in the coming year.

“In the confession he named three other people,” Mike Brown said of Moore. “We know who they are, and hopefully it’ll be taken care of.”

He thanked the Belmont County Prosecutor’s Office and the sheriff’s department investigators for their efforts in pursuing the case.

“I’ve been coming back and forth. Hearings have been delayed. It’s been tough on all three of us,” he said. “It turns your world upside down.”

His brothers, Chris Brown of Powhatan Point and Tom Brown of Shadyside, agreed.

“This is just a piece of the puzzle, the first piece. When they all come together, we’ll get some closure at that time. Right now this isn’t anything at all that makes us happy as far as this being over,” Tom Brown said. “Four years ago we said we weren’t going to quit until all four were behind bars. Nothing’s changed.”

“You never thought it would happen to someone in your family,” Mike Brown said.

“We’re a very close family, and we remain close, and we are all on the same page,” Tom Brown said. “This will all come out. They’ll all be behind bars before long.”

Chief Detective Ryan Allar, of the Belmont County Sheriff’s Department, commented on the results of the five-year investigation.

“A lot of law enforcement officers put a lot of time on this case, more time than any case we’ve ever worked before. To see one of the persons responsible for Marvin’s death receive some justice is gratifying, but we’re not done yet and we’re not going to stop until we’re done,” he said. “There was a conspiracy to kill Marvin Brown. The sheriff’s office, the prosecutor and all parties involved are doing everything we can to make sure everyone’s brought to justice.”

Allar said he hopes evidence gathered in the Moore investigation can be used toward prosecution of the suspected co-conspirators.

“This case was a priority right from the beginning,” Sheriff David Lucas said, commending the investigators for their work. “They never let this go cold. … Chief Allar is the lead investigator, and he works the cases until they’re done.”

“Today’s plea is representative of both Steven’s acceptance of responsibility and his willingness to cooperate with Detective Allar in his relentless efforts to deliver justice to the family and community,” Moore’s attorney Mallory said via email later Saturday.

Allar did not name the other suspects in the case on Saturday.

“The people that were part of this conspiracy to kill Marvin Brown, they know who they are, and as far as the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office is concerned, their days are numbered,” he said.