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McNeil v. State

The defendant fatally shot the unarmed victim in the head.

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Following a jury trial, John G. McNeil was found guilty of aggravated assault and felony murder in connection with the shooting death of Brian Epp.1 On appeal, McNeil contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction, that the trial court erred in failing to include on the verdict form a requirement that the jury determine whether justification existed as to each count, that the trial court erred in its pattern jury instructions on aggravated assault and felony murder, that the trial court erred in failing to recharge the jury on justification and self-defense, and that McNeil was denied his constitutional right to due process due to the State’s use of aggravated assault as the underlying felony to support the felony murder charge in the indictment. Finding no error, we affirm. 1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence reveals that, in September 2005, McNeil contracted to buy an unfinished home from Epp Elevations, a small building company owned by Epp and his wife. On December 6, 2005, Epp went to McNeil’s house to complete required work. McNeil’s son, La’Ron, was home and called McNeil to report that someone was in the backyard. Believing that Epp was a trespasser, La’Ron confronted Epp and asked him to leave, and an argument ensued during which Epp pointed a knife at La’Ron. La’Ron called McNeil to report this incident to him.

In response, McNeil headed home in his car. On the way back he reported to an emergency 911 operator that a man was on his property and had pulled a knife on his son. Moments later, McNeil told the operator, “I’m at the property now. . . and there’s the builder and I may get ready to whip his ass right now. So get the cops here now.”As McNeil was pulling into his driveway, he retrieved an automatic handgun from his car’s glove compartment, removed it from its case, and loaded it with ammunition.

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