Liberty Man sentenced in 2015 Shooting

Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins states that 49-year-old John W. McCarty was convicted on Oct. 18, 2017, of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He was sentenced to 30-years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Assistant Solicitor’s Baker Cleveland and Britni McCall presented evidence that on the evening of July 15, 2015, McCarty shot and killed 23-year-old Mitchell Bradley while Bradley was a guest at McCarty’s home in Liberty. Bradley, his brother Jacob Kirk, and McCarty’s partner, Randy Wilson, had been arguing among themselves prior to the shooting. The argument continued to escalate, and Wilson called out for McCarty, who was in his room at the time, armed himself with a 9mm handgun, went to the area of the altercation, fired one warning shot into the floor, and then shot Bradley twice in the torso through a glass window in the back door of the residence. No one else at the residence was armed. Bradley died at the scene. The defense contended that McCarty shot to defend his partner; however, the jury concluded that the shooting was not justified and McCarty was convicted on both counts.