Office of District Attorney General Jody Pickens, 26th Judicial District
On May 3, 2021, the Henderson County, Tennessee, Grand Jury indicted then forty-six-year-old Marlos Lekeith Tipton of Dyersburg, Tennessee, for Vehicular Homicide and Speeding.
The indictment stems from an April 10, 2022 traffic crash near the 106-mile marker of Interstate 40 in which thirty-four-year-old Maria Morales Ortega was killed.
On February 22, 2023, after a one-day bench trial before Judge Donald Allen, Tipton was convicted as charged in the indictment.
Trooper Shane Moore of the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) testified as an expert in the field of crash reconstruction and determined through his investigation that at the point of impact with the rear of the vehicle in which the victim was a passenger, Tipton was traveling at 101 miles per hour and had been traveling at speeds as high as 129.87 miles per hour prior to the crash.
Ms. Morales Ortega was en route from Texas to Lebanon, Tennessee, to be with her children and other family members.
Sentencing is set for April 13, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. Tipton will face fifteen (15) years in the Tennessee Department of Correction for Vehicular Homicide and thirty (30) days in the Henderson County Jail for Speeding.
Tipton has a lengthy criminal history that includes a 2017 Federal conviction for Distribution, Attempt to Distribute, Possession with Intent to Distribute, and Attempt to Possess with the Intent to Distribute Marijuana. His state convictions include a 2012 felony conviction for Vehicle Burglary in Davidson County, Tennessee.
He also has the following Dyer County, Tennessee, felony convictions: 2013, Introduction of Contraband into a Penal institution; 2011, Sale and Delivery of Cocaine; 2001, Possession of Cocaine with the Intent to Sell; 1994, Theft Over $500; 1994, Possession of Cocaine with the Intent to Sell; and 1994, Vehicle Burglary. In addition to his felony convictions, Tipton is believed to have misdemeanor convictions for Theft (two convictions), Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance, Driving on a Suspended License, Assault (two convictions), Resisting Arrest, and Possession of Cocaine.
General Pickens stated, “This case stands as an example of the importance of the hard work that the Tennessee Highway Patrol does everyday across this state to keep us safe by enforcing traffic laws and investigating tragic events such as this when they occur.
“The victim in this case was doing nothing more than traveling to be reunited with her family when her life was taken from her by the reckless, irresponsible actions of this criminal defendant.
“His past criminal behavior and actions in this case show that he has no regard for the laws of this state or the safety of his fellow man. His behavior that day on Interstate 40 endangered scores of innocent citizens who were simply going about the quiet enjoyment of their lives.
“I want to thank Assistant District Attorney General Eric Wood who prosecuted the case at trial and Trooper Shane Moore of the Tennessee Highway Patrol who testified as an expert witness in the field of crash reconstruction.
“Other law enforcement involved in the investigation and prosecution of the case that I want to thank includes Trooper Shavonna Rivers, Trooper Robert Russom, and Lieutenant Andy Forsythe. God bless the victim and her family. It is my hope that they can find some semblance of peace in the days ahead.”
