Corona man fatally shot woman in North Long Beach home in 2017 following argument about politics, prosecutor says

A 40-year-old Corona man fatally shot a woman and injured her husband in their North Long Beach home following a verbal dispute in which he was teased about voting for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, a prosecutor told a jury on Wednesday, Oct. 27.

But a defense attorney representing John Kevin McVoy Jr. countered that the Jan. 10, 2017 shooting was in self-defense and that McVoy feared for his life when he fired the two shots out of a .41-caliber Colt revolver.

The lawyers’ competing claims came during opening statements in the Long Beach Superior Court trial of McVoy, who faces charges that include murder, two counts of attempted murder and child endangerment. The shooting killed Susan Garcia, 33, and critically wounded Victor Garcia inside their home in the 6300 block of Knight Avenue.

McVoy could face up to life in prison if he’s convicted on the charges.

Susan Garcia held the couple’s young son in her lap when McVoy fired the shots, prosecutor Irene Lee said.

McVoy and Victor Garcia were members of a garage band, Below the Faultline, with others, Lee said. They practiced in the Garcias’ garage every Tuesday.

When McVoy arrived, Victor Garcia, his wife and two friends were hanging around the kitchen table, Lee said. In the background, President Barack Obama’s farewell speech played on television.

With the group engaged in a discussion about politics, at one point someone asked McVoy whom he voted for, Lee said. After he said Clinton, Victor Garcia snapped his fingers, pointed to the door and said, “Get the (expletive) out of my house,” Lee said.

McVoy then drew the revolver and fired a shot at Victor Garcia, hitting him in the head, Lee said. He then turned the gun to Susan Garcia, who turned to shield their son as he fired. The bullet hit her in the left arm first and then penetrated her organs. She died inside the home.

“Each action was deliberate and targeted,” Lee said. “The only two shots hit their targets.”

Lee showed the jury a photo of Susan Garcia and her son. She later showed a photo of Garcia’s body on the tiled kitchen floor after the shooting.

Victor Garcia had to have two brain surgeries and now has metal plates in his skull, Lee said.

But McVoy’s attorney, Ninaz Saffari, told the jury the shooting wasn’t over politics, but was the culmination of Victor Garcia’s increasingly aggressive behavior toward McVoy after the band had signed a sponsorship agreement the previous month.

On three separate occasions in the weeks leading up to shooting, Victor Garcia confronted McVoy, leaving him scared, Saffari said, adding that the shooting was a reaction to a specific action by Victor Garcia.

“Something happened that caused John to react,” Saffari said. “That reaction was to protect himself.”

Saffari did not specify any of the confrontations during her opening statements, but told the jury they would be revealed during testimony.

She said McVoy carried the gun, a family heirloom, because he suffers from Crone’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis and felt he couldn’t otherwise defend himself.

“He felt threatened, he felt afraid, he didn’t know what to do,” Saffari said.

Immediately after the shots were fired the two friends rushed McVoy, knocked the weapon out of his hand and tackled him to the ground. Saffari told the jury the second shot, which killed Susan Garcia, was fired accidentally during the struggle.

The two men punched and kicked McVoy after they tackled him to the ground, Lee said. A photo shown to the jury by Saffari showed McVoy’s bruised and bloodied face in the hospital.

The child, who was not injured, was taken to a neighbor by other band members.

While it wasn’t specifically stated how McVoy and Victor Garcia met, Saffari said McVoy ran an online store selling musical instruments and promoting bands.  The two men knew each other for about five to six years.

Saffari said McVoy became a full-time member of the band in September 2016, but because of Garcia’s bullying, had made the decision to quit the band the day before the shooting and went to the house to drop off an instrument.

The attorneys anticipated the trial, during which McVoy is expected to testify, will last more than a week.