Seeking Sister Wife star Marcus Epps is sure to stir up quite a bit of controversy with his adulterous polygamy origin story. However, public controversy is nothing new for 36-year-old Marcus.
Despite the Epps family’s scenes being shot in a house in Orlando, Florida, Marcus reveals that he is an elected official in his hometown of Euclid, Ohio. Marcus is currently the Euclid City Councilman for Ward 3, and his political career has been peppered with controversies since he was first elected to the office. Those controversies include alleged tax evasion, a house fire, and a murder at an illegal after-hours club in Cleveland!
Marcus Epps club murder
On October 25, 2020, there was a shooting at an after-hours club in Cleveland. Three people were reportedly shot by a man who was denied entry into the club by a bouncer. 27-year-old Shameia Hurth was one of the shooting victims, and she later died from her injuries.
Another woman was shot in the leg, and a man was shot in the arm. They both survived. In police body cam footage recorded outside the club just after the shooting, you can see the woman being carried by two men. (Video included below.)
The “after-hours club” turned out to be an abandoned building that had been officially condemned a few years prior and was technically owned by the state. Here is a report on the shooting from 19 News reporter Hannah Catlett, which includes body cam footage from police on the scene:
Hannah Catlett mentions that there was a woman on the scene who claimed to be the owner of the property. Police later revealed that they were informed by a woman on the scene that she was “hosting a birthday party.” They described the woman as “very evasive” during questioning.
A man on the scene told police: “I have the lease to the place.” That man is one of the two people seen carrying the woman who was shot in the leg in the body cam footage.
That man turned out to be Marcus Epps! And the woman hosting the birthday party? That was his “wife” Taryn Lindsey! Here’s a screen cap from the clip showing Marcus carrying the shooting victim:
19 News continued to investigate the story and discovered that Marcus and Taryn had traceable ties to the property:
Court records show the state foreclosed on the property three years ago, but the former owner is still making $1000 a month renting the building out to the “OCF group.”
According to an article in the News Herald, Euclid Councilman Marcus Epps lists his employer as the OFC group.
We compared the signature on the Woodhill Road lease, to Epps’s signature on his campaign finance statement on file with the state. They appear to match.
The OCF Group’s business license on file with the state lists Taryn Lindsey as the owner.
19 News connects Marcus and Taryn together professionally, but they never make the marital connection. I am guessing that is because Taryn still has her maiden name. (NOTE: There is no record of the couple being legally married in Cuyahoga County.)
I could find no additional updates on Marcus and Taryn being tied to the property in regards to legal action. It also appears that police have not arrested anyone for the murder of Shameia Hurth.
Marcus Epps house fire and police raid
Five months after the club shooting, Marcus got caught up in another scandal related to a property he was connected to. On March 26, 2021, a 19-year-old woman suffered minor injuries after a house located in the 25000 block of Tungsten Avenue caught fire.
The property was owned by Marcus Epps, and police returned in July to serve a search warrant at the address. “According to Euclid Fire Department Chief Chris Haddock, the search warrant was issued in connection with a house fire and housing code violations,” 19 News reported at the time.
“A source told 19 News that work went uncompleted after the fire damaged the home,” the site added. “According to a source who was not permitted to speak on the record, Epps is accused of committing obstruction of justice. We’re told misdemeanor charges will be filed.”
Marcus said that the search warrant was political blowback because he was pushing for police to wear body cams. (Yes, similar to the body cams that caught Marcus on the scene of the after-hours club shooting.)
More of Marcus’s explanation from 19 News:
“It’s all political, it’s all about at our next city council meeting I am trying to mandate body cameras by our officers,” Epps said, “And the day before this search warrant was executed I was in the mayor’s office going in on them about a demolition project that started on Euclid Avenue and it is a catastrophe.”
Click here to watch a video with Marcus at the property after the search.
Marcus Epps was officially charged with multiple housing violations in January of this year.
Marcus Epps tax evasion
In March of this year, a Fox 8 I-Team “checked property tax records for every mayor and council member in Cuyahoga County, making up hundreds of elected officials.”
The investigation uncovered 16 elected officials who were behind on paying their taxes. “Of that group, we noticed Euclid Councilman Marcus Epps owing the most with more than $12,000.”
When reached for comment, Marcus brought up the house fire and described his family’s recent situation as a “struggle.”
More from the Fox 8 report:
But, county records show Epps has not paid any property taxes since 2019, long before the house fire. Epps insists he has made payments although the county tells us there’s no record of that.
“I’m saying we’ve made payments since 2019,” Epps said.
But when we asked for dates of those payments, he did not provide any.
I just checked Cuyahoga County property tax records and a Euclid property belonging to Marcus and a woman named Latricia is currently in arrears. The amount owed is listed as $14,668.01, with $12438.70 of that being delinquent taxes and penalties. The property is the same one that caught fire.
It’s unclear if any of the political controversies involving Marcus Epps will be mentioned on Seeking Sister Wife. To find out, be sure to tune in to new episodes airing Monday nights at 10/9c on TLC!
The skeletons continue to dance out of the closet of #SeekingSisterWife star Marcus Epps. In addition to his numerous political scandals, he was also arrested on multiple domestic violence charges in 2008! Get all the details: https://t.co/NlbDOIxcVQ pic.twitter.com/xdArWG7I6S
— Starcasm (@starcasm) June 20, 2022
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
