Bryant
An Edinburgh man who admitted shooting his stepfather last Thanksgiving has been sentenced to six years in prison.
Damion Bryant, 21, of 15148 N. Bluff Rd., Edinburgh was originally changed with murder and reckless homicide in the shooting death of 49-year-old Wayne E. McGeorge Jr.
As part of a plea agreement announced on April 16, Bryant entered a guilty plea to reckless homicide as a Level 5 felony. In exchange, the charge of murder was dropped.
While murder carries up to 65 years in prison, the maximum sentence for a Level 5 felony is six years. Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin handed down the maximum before ordering Bryant to pay $2,073 in restitution to the victim’s father and an additional $8,366 for funeral expenses, as well as court costs and various fees.
The shooting of McGeorge took place in the Talberton addition of northwest German Township. Next door to the crime scene was a home occupied by the victim’s parents and two brothers.
After a fight broke out between McGeorge and Bryant’s mother, Angela McGeorge, the matter began to escalate out of control, a probable cause affidavit stated.
Witnesses testified that McGeorge left for more than 20 minutes after the fight between Wayne and Angela ended before he returned and was subsequently shot. Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin said she still has no idea why Bryant first loaded the gun, unloaded it, and then loaded it a second time before shooting his stepfather.
But his actions showed Bryant had time to think about what he was doing, Benjamin said.
The judge repeated a statement earlier made by Bryant to investigators that he felt he would either punch or shoot his stepfather prior to the killing.
“Your actions were concerning, calculated, reckless and dangerous,” Benjamin told the defendant. “And that makes you dangerous.”
While Bryant admits he was holding the gun when the bullet struck his stepfather, he claims McGeorge was intoxicated and physically abusive with the defendant’s mother.
The defendant told investigators he began thinking that he may either have to punch his stepfather or shoot him, court documents state.
Bryant told officers that his stepfather pushed on him during the subsequent confrontation and placed his hands around his neck, a probable cause affidavit states. The defendant said he pushed McGeorge away with the barrel of the gun, which then discharged accidentally into the victim’s abdomen, according to the affidavit.
It was an explanation that the judge said she does not believe.
“It just doesn’t seem consistent,” Benjamin said. “This was a senseless and tragic murder, where the aggravating factors far outweigh the mitigating factors.”
By Mark Webber. The (Columbus) Republic is a sister newspaper to the Daily Journal.
