A jury on Wednesday convicted a Greenwood man of attempted murder after just a few hours of deliberation.
The jury convicted Andrew Phillip McQuinn, 28, on all counts: attempted murder, a Level 1 felony; possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a Level 4 felony; domestic battery committed in the presence of a child less than 16 and theft of a firearm, both Level 6 felonies; as well as misdemeanor possession of a handgun without a license. The firearm possession charge would normally be a Level 5 felony, but prosecutors asked the jury to consider convicting McQuinn at Level 4 due to a previous felony conviction. The jury agreed.
McQuinn shot at Bargersville police officer Klint Brown following a domestic battery incident on Feb. 9, 2020. Several witnesses said McQuinn shot at Brown when the officer arrived about 8 p.m. that night at Clary Crossing Apartments in Bargersville.
McQuinn took the stand Wednesday, the second day of trial, after Bargersville and Johnson County law enforcement officers, the domestic violence victim and her parents testified for the prosecution.
McQuinn recounted his activities the day of the shooting. He said he started drinking at 10 a.m. and continued throughout the day, consuming four Four Lokos, four or five IPAs and some tequila and whiskey.
He recalled arguing with the domestic violence victim over little, nit-picky things throughout the day, and said those arguments escalated to violence later in the day.
The victim had told the court she was battered multiple times that day and police officers reported observing bruising and red marks on her body after the altercations.
McQuinn could not recall stealing the victim’s gun, he said, but remembers waking up outside the apartment complex with the gun shortly before the shooting took place. He told the court he had blacked out.
That is when he started pacing in front of the apartment building and blacked out again, waking up by the dumpster where police and witnesses say he shot at Brown from, he told the court.
Witnesses said McQuinn fired shots from the area of the dumpster, though their testimony placed him on different sides of it. The gun and six shell casings were also found near the dumpster during the investigation.
McQuinn recalled opening fire but said he wasn’t aiming at or intending to kill Brown. He also said he does not remember making statements that he tried to kill Brown and shoot at police, or anything else that occurred between the time of the shooting and when he woke up at the jail in a restraint chair.
He recalled feeling overwhelmed at the time of the shooting. He told the court he felt like a loser and “giving up and escaping.” At the time, he was in a toxic relationship and not on speaking terms with his family, he said.
Prosecutors challenged McQuinn’s statements about blacking out with his demeanor on recorded body camera footage. Deputy Prosecutor Kayla Keller pointed out his statements were coherent and he was walking on his own in that footage. They also brought up an additional witness Wednesday which McQuinn’s attorney, Michael Kyle, also called to the stand — a Bargersville detective who investigated the case.
The detective shared details of his investigation and said he interviewed McQuinn. However, that interview was not recorded. The detective thought the room in the jail where he was conducting the interview was set up for recording, he said.
During that interview, McQuinn said multiple times he shot in the air. Since there was no a recording of that interaction, it was deemed inadmissible in court. Keller argued it was here say, and Superior Court 2 Judge Peter Nugent, who presided over the case, agreed with her.
In closing arguments, Keller urged the jury to consider the facts of the case and leave the level of his intoxication out of their decision. She cast doubt again about his statements regarding blacking out, saying, “He is blacking out but has time to post on social media and beat up the victim … He is conveniently blacking out during his crimes.”
In the defense’s closing argument, Kyle asked the jury to listen to all of the evidence, not just the prosecution’s side of the story. While he did say on body camera footage he shot at Brown, he also said, “I shot in the air,” and, “You’re lucky I didn’t make you kill me.”
Kyle said those alleged statements and other evidence presented show McQuinn was “consistently inconsistent” as a result of his intoxication. While Kyle said being drunk is not an excuse for acting the way he did, those decisions are ones he would not have made sober.
Kyle also questioned the witnesses’ assertions that the gun was fired at Brown, as there were no bullets or bullet holes found near where the officer was when shots were fired.
Prosecutor Joe Villanueva said again McQuinn did intend to shoot Brown, as evidenced by McQuinn’s statement, “You’re lucky I didn’t make you kill me,” Villaneuva said.
A statement like that would only be said by someone who did shoot at police and had no remorse for doing so, he said.
Villanueva was pleased with the trial’s outcome and hopes it sends a message to others who might find themselves in similar circumstances, he said after the trial.
“Throughout the course of that evening, McQuinn repeatedly boasted he shot at the police, ‘because that’s what we do.’ I hope this serves as a valuable lesson that my office will vigorously prosecute cases of individuals who try to take the lives of our local law enforcement officers, and if we secure a conviction will work to ensure they spend decades in prison, ‘because that’s what we do.’”
Sentencing is set for April 15. McQuinn faces up to 57 years in prison if ordered to serve time consecutively.
