A fight between two families broke out in the lobby of a Las Vegas courtroom the day after Christmas and continued outside during a murder suspect’s arraignment.
Markeem Benson, 29, is accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend, Renise “NeNe” Wolfe, 33, a skilled tattoo artist, on December 22 after an argument at a family Christmas party. According to court records, he was on probation when he was arrested and charged with open murder and felony possession of a firearm.
On December 26, emotions ran high at the North Las Vegas Justice Court, which was packed with both sides’ supporters and family members. After the felony hearing concluded, chaos ensued.
Wolfe’s father, a retired Las Vegas Metro Police Department officer, confronted the accused’s brother in the courthouse lobby.
Local news network 8 News Now captured footage of the grieving father being led away from the scene in handcuffs by a court marshal. It was later discovered that he was escorted to his car, and no charges were filed against him. The family of Renise Wolfe claimed Benson’s brother had been antagonizing and taunting them in court, according to the outlet.
A second argument erupted between the two factions in front of the courthouse, but the altercation did not become physical.
The couple, who started dating in July, went to a family holiday party together on Dec. 21, and everything seemed normal until a female acquaintance of Benson’s showed up, causing an argument, according to family members.
After leaving the party, the couple went to an apartment in North Las Vegas, where a fatal domestic dispute erupted.
Benson’s father told detectives that his son called him the next morning and said, “Something to the effect of’she’ came at him with a gun, there was some kind of ‘tussle,’ and then the gun went off,” according to an arrest report obtained by KSNV News 3. Benson also called his brother and told him he had “done something bad,” according to police.
Benson claimed self-defense, but Wolfe’s mother claimed it was an execution-style murder.
“He shot her while she was laying on the ground, in a fetal position, behind the ear; what does that tell you?” she asked 8 News Now, crying. Wolfe was shot four times in the back of the head, according to autopsy results, and detectives determined that Benson was aiming down based on the angle.
“This means Markeem would have been standing on top of Renise when he fired that round,” the arrest report stated.
At 10:16 a.m. on December 22, Las Vegas police received a 911 call from Benson’s father, who stated that his son wanted to turn himself in. He was arrested outside a local restaurant and led police to the apartment where his slain girlfriend lived.
Surveillance video obtained by authorities captured several pops around 1:20 a.m., but Markeem waited nine hours to notify anyone, claiming he had fallen asleep.
Benson was denied bail during the explosive hearing and is scheduled to appear in court again on January 30th. Wolfe’s family previously told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that they intend to attend all of the hearings, with sister Ashely Tuttle stating. “We’ll be here every single time.”
