Legal analysis from Dean's Law Dictionary will be displayed here.

This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

McCray entered the gas station store. He selected about $4.00 worth of items and walked towards the checkout area, which was a sealed booth surrounded by what appeared to be bulletproof glass or plastic. McCray placed his items in the circular swivel located at the center of the checkout counter and walked over to the register. D, in the sealed booth behind the transparent bulletproof barrier, bagged McCray's items, placed them back in the circular swivel, and walked over to the register to meet McCray. Two additional customers, Langston and Kelly, entered the gas station store. They waited behind McCray as McCray and D continued their conversation about McCray's payment. McCray's card was declined. D and McCray started and continued a heated discourse while a third patron, Bowden, entered the store. McCray threatened D, yelling, 'I'll kill you. Come out here and get your brains on the floor. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up, before I put your brains on the floor and I take this shit.' Dreplied, 'Nah, I ain't worried about you bro. Put your fucking pin in bro. The fuck is wrong you with you? You ain't taking shit. I can lock you in this bitch.' McCray headed to the door with the bag of items as D repeatedly stated, 'You ain't taking shit.' D remotely locked the door. After McCray found the door locked, he walked back to the checkout counter-where Langston and Kelly were still waiting-to further threaten D. The patrons inside the gas station repeatedly tried to open the gas station's door, including McCray again, who at one point tried kicking the door open. Langston, Bowden, and Kelly pleaded with D to unlock the gas station store's only door, while McCray continued yelling and acting belligerent. D refused to unlock the door and instead contacted emergency services to report McCray's refusal to pay for or return the $4.00 worth of snacks and beverages. A gun is not visible in the video, Langston testified that, when he walked into the gas station, he saw that McCray had a gun on his hip underneath his shirt. McCray engaged Kelly, pointing a finger in Kelly's face while yelling, and Langston stepped in between Kelly and McCray to diffuse the situation. Things kept escalating and McCray began pacing near the door while the other patrons gathered at the counter to plead with D to unlock the door. D motioned to the patrons with his hand to leave the gas station store while yelling, 'Get the fuck on bro. Get the fuck on,' as he pressed a button that would unlock the door. Eventually, in the short period of time, McCray pulled a gun out of his waistband and started shooting. McCray shot Kelly nine times, Langston three times, and Bowden three or four times. Kelly died. There were approximately four minutes between D locking the gas station door and the shooting. P requested a bindover on an involuntary manslaughter charge. The district court approved the request. P claimed that D exacerbated the situation, provoked the shooter, and got him really amped up and hyped up. D filed a motion to quash the bindover in circuit court, contending that the prosecution failed to establish that D was the factual or proximate cause of Kelly's death. Both the district court and the circuit court issued a written opinion and order denying D's motion. D appealed.

The legal issues presented in this case will be displayed here.

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