A 61-year-old man in Tennessee will spend the rest of his life in prison after killing a man who was dating his niece, shooting the 42-year-old victim many times, and then claiming his handgun fired “accidentally.”
Knox County Criminal Court Judge Steven W. Sword sentenced Johnny Robert McBee to life in state prison for the murder of Jerome Nance in 2022, authorities confirmed Thursday.
According to a District Attorney’s Office press release, a jury found McBee, who has previously been convicted of six felonies, guilty of one count of first-degree murder and one count of unauthorized possession of a weapon. He has prior convictions for armed robbery, assault with intent to murder, and burglary.
Following the verdict, Sword promptly imposed the life sentence.
During the three-day trial, prosecutors from the Major Crimes Unit revealed to jurors what caused Nance’s “senseless” death.
On the afternoon of January 30, 2022, officers from the Knoxville Police Department responded to a report of a gunshot in the 900 block of Atlantic Avenue in the Oakwood neighborhood. According to detectives, the inquiry found that McBee and Nance had argued earlier in the day about Nance’s romantic involvement with McBee’s niece. During the altercation, McBee threatened to kill Nance, according to prosecutors.
“When both men arrived at the Atlantic Avenue address, McBee exited his vehicle with a revolver,” according to the announcement. “When the victim exited his vehicle, McBee fired three shots, killing the victim.”
Following the tragic shooting, McBee left before police arrived.
During the trial, McBee claimed that “the revolver accidentally discharged three times,” but jurors finally rejected the farfetched assertion.
“This is another senseless loss of life where a verbal argument escalated because a career criminal pulled a gun,” District Attorney Charme Allen said in a statement released after the hearings.
Under Tennessee state law, McBee must serve at least 51 years in jail before being allowed to talk with the parole board about his release.