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Beloved Gainesville businessman slain in seemingly random incident mourned

Jack Hough was waiting for his wife as she was picking up a prescription when he was gunned down.

Family and friends gathered on Monday to grieve together at the funeral for beloved Gainesville businessman Jack Hough. 

Hough, 73, was shot to death Thursday while sitting in his car in the parking lot of a CVS pharmacy. Robbery was the apparent motive, police said, and they believe it was purely random. 

Hough, for decades, was a prominent and beloved businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist in the Gainesville community. He was waiting for his wife Gail, who was inside picking up a prescription at the business. Investigators said 24-year-old DeMarvin Bennett apparently wanted Hough's money or car - or perhaps both - when he came up and killed him.

RELATED: Man shot dead at Gainesville drug store 

Police said when Bennett ran off Thursday night after shooting the 73-year-old, he left forensic evidence behind in the parking lot that tied him directly to the crime. Investigators tracked him to East Point, where police said they found Bennett hiding in a storage facility 2 a.m. Sunday.

Bennett was in court on Monday to hear the charges against him. 

"I mean, what is malice murder? What is malice murder?" asked Bennett in court. "I have no clue what it is."

In the words of the Gainesville Police arrest warrant for Bennett, he "…did with malice aforethought cause the death of James Jackson Hough by shooting him two times with a .380 caliber handgun.”

RELATED | East Point man charged with gunning down businessman

"What does malice mean? That means like, no remorse at all?" Bennett asked the judge.

"Well, that's a legal term," the judge replied. "Your attorney can explain it to you," the judge finally told Bennett. 

Investigators are now tracking Bennett's past, saying he has a criminal record - including an arrest by the Forest Park Police Department. According to Sgt. Kelli Flanigan, the department arrested him in 2011 on a variety of charges, including robbery, shoplifting and burglary. As investigators continue to look into the case, they say that more charges are possible.

Bennett will remain in the Hall County Jail without bond. His preliminary hearing has been set for March 15.

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