Cecil man charged in homicide
A Cecil Township man whose home was being used for a marijuana growing operation has been charged in the fatal shooting of a Washington man.
David William Murray, 53, of 128 Adams St., McDonald, was charged with criminal homicide for the Dec. 2 death of Nathaniel Kevin Gardner, 52, inside his home. The charge was announced Thursday by Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone.
According to the complaint, township police were called around 6:15 p.m. to Murray’s home for a report that a man was shot. While officers were responding, Washington County 911 received a call from a woman who advised that her brother, Murray, called her and told her he shot someone who broke into his residence. A dispatcher called Murray’s cellphone and he allegedly stated he shot a man and wasn’t sure if the man was alive.
When they arrived, officers from Cecil and McDonald made contact with Mary Plumley, Gardner’s girlfriend, and Christopher Mann, who were outside the home. Plumley reportedly told police, “Kevin is dead and the white guy inside the trailer has a gun.”
Officers called Murray out of the residence and placed him in custody.
Gardner, who was found on his back on the kitchen floor, was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy performed by the Washington County Coroner’s office concluded Gardner died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
Murray allegedly told officers that an unknown black man entered his residence Nov. 19, punched him in the head and took a jar containing marijuana. Murray said the man told him he would be back.
Murray told police he feared for his life, so he retrieved his deceased mother’s gun from his sister’s house.
Murray said the night of the shooting, he was watching TV when someone pounded on his door, so he ran to the back bedroom and retrieved the gun. Murray said Gardner kicked in the door and rushed at him, so he shot him.
According to the complaint, Gardner was unarmed at the time of the incident.
Vittone said Thursday Murray could not invoke the Castle Doctrine – a legal doctrine that permits a person to use deadly force to defend against an intruder in certain circumstances – because criminal activity on the premises is a specific exception.
“The lesson is, if you’re engaged in criminal activity, or a drug dealer engaged in criminal activity, you can’t just shoot somebody and say, ‘I’m invoking Castle Doctrine,'” Vittone said.
While investigating, officers found a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber pistol with four live rounds and one spent round, 16 marijuana plants, 13 containers of suspected marijuana and paraphernalia used for growing. According to Vittone, the home contained a growing room and numerous rooms for drying and processing marijuana.
A search warrant for the residence was obtained and the items were seized.
Murray was arrested after the shooting on drug charges and placed in Washington County Jail on $150,000 bond. Vittone said he waited to charge Murray in the shooting until the investigation by Cecil police was done.
Plumley, 49, of 6 Stonecrest Lane, Cecil, was arrested on charges of simple assault and harassment for allegedly kicking Murray and threatening to kill him as he was being handcuffed by police. Mann, 31, was taken into custody and placed in Washington County Jail on a probation violation.
Murray was also charged with 29 counts of possession with intent to deliver and possession of a controlled substance, and 19 counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.
He was arraigned before District Judge Traci McDonald Thursday. A preliminary hearing is set for 10 a.m. Dec. 15.