Eddystone man gets long jail sentence in fatal shooting
— Fred Vincent, father of shooting victim Jami Dawn Vincent
MEDIA COURTHOUSE >> A 32-yearold Eddystone man was sentenced to serve 14 to 28 years in the fatal shooting of his friend last December, an outcome the victim’s father said met the grieving family’s expectations.
Roger J. McBride’s sentence, announced Wednesday afternoon by Common Pleas Court Judge John Capuzzi, also includes seven years on probation.
McBride’s conviction in the Dec. 20, 2015, death of 33-yearold Jami Dawn Vincent inside her row home on the 1200 block of Saville Avenue in Eddystone was reached by Capuzzi after hearing testimony in a one-day bench trial last month.
Fred Vincent, who along with his wife, Lois, was in the courtroom for the proceedings, said Wednesday night they were grateful for swift justice for their beloved daughter. The couple reside in Fleetwood, Pa., with their other children.
“We are very satisfied with the sentence. It met our expectations,” Vincent said, adding that his family is also very grateful to the judge, prosecutor and investigators for their efforts.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Hill, the father said, “really got who our daughter was.”
Among those testifying at trial was McBride’s longtime friend Paul McGonigal, who described witnessing the shooting first hand. McGonigle said he came to the Saville Avenue house at about 5:45 p.m. Dec. 20 with the intention of going out to dinner with Vincent, McBride, his girlfriend, Ellen Metro, and Jack Mooney, a U.S. Army Staff Sargent whose .45 caliber Springfield handgun was used in the shooting.
McGonigle told Hill that no one was downstairs when he entered, so he sat on the couch in the living room reading news on his phone. Mooney came down and said hello, took the gun out of his backpack and placed it on the coffee table, according to McGonigle. Mooney then gathered some shower supplies from his bag and returned upstairs, McGonigle said.
McBride came downstairs shortly thereafter, said hello and entered an adjoining dining room, said McGonigle.
“A minute or two later, (McBride) comes back in and I notice he’s got the gun in his hand,” according to McGonigle.
McGonigle said McBride was “playing” with the weapon, moving it from hand-to-hand and commenting that he liked the weight when Vincent came down the stairs.
“Jami turns the corner, comes into the living room, stops in front of Roger,” said McGonigle. “Roger raises his arm with the handgun and pulls the trigger.”
McGonigle said Vincent immediately dropped to the floor as McBride stood over her.
“(McBride) freaked out, started yelling, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t know it was loaded,’” said McGonigle. “Just total shock.”
Delaware County Medical Examiner Dr. Fredric Hellman testified that Vincent suffered a single “contact-type” gunshot wound to the middle of her forehead. The skin around the entry wound tore for several inches and the bullet went nearly straight through at a slightly rightward and downward angle, he said, exiting the back of her skull. Hellman said she would have been unconscious instantly, with death following. Eddystone Lt. Joseph Pretti, one of the first officers to arrive, said he found Vincent lying on the floor and McBride sitting at the dining room table with an open bottle of rye. McBride told him the shooting was an accident and he did not know the gun was loaded. Pretti
“We are very satisfied with the sentence. It met our expectations.”
said McBride had a “blank stare” and appeared to be in shock.
Mooney testified that he had only bought the handgun days before and showed it to McBride and McGonigle when he arrived that Friday, two days before the shooting. He withdrew the magazine and made sure the pistol was empty before passing it to his friends.
Mooney said he replaced the clip but did not pull the slide, meaning no round had been chambered, and put the gun back into his backpack. He said he did not believe he touched the gun again until he went to take a shower.
Before placing the gun on the coffee table Dec. 20, Mooney said he again checked to ensure the chamber was clear, a habit he developed during his 13 years in the military. McGonigle said he did not notice Mooney doing anything other than placing the gun on the table, but said he was not paying close attention to the man.
Mooney indicated the weapon would not chamber a round without pulling the slide and said simply pulling the trigger would not chamber a round. Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division Lt. Louis Grandizio also testified that the gun would not chamber a round even with multiple trigger pulls. Grandizio added that the handgun featured a handle safety mechanism, trigger safety and an indicator that would “pop up” when a live round was chambered.
Defense attorney Scott Kramer had argued that the commonwealth failed to show the requisite malice for a murder conviction, though he conceded the charges of reckless endangerment and possession of a weapon.
Hill counted that he need not prove McBride specifically intended to kill Vincent to show malice, just that he demonstrated an “extreme indifference” to the value of human life by disregarding the serious risk his actions created.
Hill noted that under Pennsylvania law, if a gun discharges and a bullet strikes the victim, the mere act of aiming the weapon at a vital part of the human body demonstrates malice.
Kramer said Wednesday that his client did not testify at trial because he was overwhelmed by emotion, as he’s been since the shooting.
“Mr. McBride has a lot of grief and a lot of anxiety and he’s very remorseful. He did not speak in court because he was overwhelmed by emotions over the guilt of what he did,” Kramer said. The victim’s parents cared little if the defendant testified or not. “We knew Roger. He wasn’t a stranger,” Vincent said, noting that the defendant had even shared Thanksgiving dinner with the family. “He was her friend. I have no doubt they cared for each other. Does that make it better, or worse, what he did?
“It almost cancels each other out.”
With the McBride case now behind them, Vincent said, “The only unfinished business is with the gun owner and why there was a gun in our daughter’s house. She didn’t like guns.”