A Corona man was convicted of murder this week for shooting to death a woman inside her North Long Beach home in January 2017 after a dispute a prosecutor said centered on who he voted for in the 2016 presidential election.
Jurors found that John Kevin McVoy, Jr., 40, intentionally used a firearm in the killing of 33-year-old Susan Garcia, Deputy District Attorney Irene Lee said.
He was scheduled to return for sentencing Dec. 15, where he faces a possible maximum sentence of 35 years to life in state prison.
But the jury found him not guilty of two counts of attempted murder and one count of child endangerment in relation to critically wounding Susan Garcia’s husband, Victor, with the child nearby: The prosecutor said Victor Garcia told McVoy to get out of his house for voting for Hillary Clinton; Susan Garcia was holding the couple’s 2-year-old son when the two shots were fired.
The boy was not injured.
McVoy and Victor Garcia were in a garage band together and scheduled to practice that night. Two other bandmates were in the home during the shooting.
The jury deliberated for four days before reaching its verdict Monday afternoon, Nov. 15.
Deputy District Attorney Lee argued McVoy pulled a .41-caliber Colt revolver and shot Victor Garcia in the head, then turned the weapon to Susan Garcia and fired, characterizing them as “kill shots.”
McVoy’s defense attorney, Ninaz Saffari, said the shooting was in self defense and was the culmination of multiple threats of violence brought on by Victor Garcia. During testimony, McVoy said he tried to calm Garcia down after Garcia had made racist comments, and pulled the gun and fired after Victor Garcia grabbed an object from the table and began raising his arms toward McVoy.
Saffari told jurors that Garcia approached McVoy with the object, a can opener that McVoy initially believed could have been a knife.
Saffari argued the second shot occurred during a struggle for the gun with a bandmate, Miguel Rea, who rushed at McVoy after he shot Victor.
Further, the defense lawyer argued, the prosecution did not show intent or a motive for the shooting.
After McVoy took the stand on Nov. 2 and 3, Lee showed jurors inconsistencies in McVoy’s story during her argument.
McVoy testified that Victor Garcia had threatened him while holding a shotgun in early December 2016. However, Lee showed jurors a receipt that showed Garcia purchased the weapon on Dec. 16, 2016 and reminded jurors of testimony from another band member who said they only practiced at the Garcias’ home on Dec. 6 and Dec. 13 that month.
She also said a gun expert testified that if Rea, the bandmate, had struggled with McVoy for the gun before the second shot was fired, Rea would have had burns on his hand.
“It’s all contrived by McVoy,” Lee said of his testimony. “His account makes no sense when considering the evidence.”
Saffari said McVoy’s story was the only one that stayed consistent during testimony.
But Lee said McVoy’s actions leading up to the shooting – driving to the house with the loaded gun, carrying it inside, pulling it out and cocking the hammer back – were deliberate and showed intent.
Lee told jurors McVoy had multiple prop guns at his house that he could have brought if he merely wanted to intimidate Garcia.
“He’s the one that made this something else,” she said. “There was no imminent danger at the time.”
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