The suspect in a fatal Dec. 3 shooting appeared in court virtually Thursday, where it was identified that there is probable cause to believe he drew his weapon with “intent to cause death to the victim.”
Robert McKay appeared in Campbell County District Court, charged in the early December shooting at the Brass Bull in Newport, which resulted in the death of Joseph Richter.
Campbell County District Court Judge Cameron J. Blau concluded the probable cause.
McKay pleaded not guilty to the murder charges against him at a Dec. 5 arraignment.
Newport Detective Jason Gabbard with the Criminal Investigations Division testified at the preliminary hearing about the events leading up to and following the shooting.
According to Gabbard, a 911 call was placed at 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 3 by a bouncer at the Brass Bull for an “escalation.” After the call, two Newport Police Officers who were already in the area responded on foot, and as they approached the establishment, they heard gunshots.
Following the gunshots, Gabbard said the suspect, McKay, exited the Brass Bull with a gun in his hand. As the officers moved to detain him, Gabbard said he heard McKay say, “that’s the gun I shot him with.”
Gabbard testified that at the time of the arrest, McKay had two guns on him, a Glock 9 mm and a Masterpiece Arms 9 mm with an extended magazine and a silencer attached to it.
Once the responding officers took McKay into custody, they investigated the inside of the Brass Bull.
Officers located the victim, Richter, on the ground with three gunshot wounds to the chest. Life-saving CPR and chest compressions were attempted on Richter before EMS arrived at the scene, but they were unsuccessful.
Gabbard said that the 911 call from the Brass Bull came after “verbal disrespect” allegedly occurred between a member of the party McKay was visiting the bar with and a dancer. Due to the verbal altercation, the bar closed, the lights were turned off, and the staff told everyone to leave.
McKay and the group he was with left the Brass Bull around 1:20 a.m. but walked back in around 1:26 a.m.
Gabbard testified that Richter, who was working that night as a bouncer at the nearby Huddle’s Café in Newport, was called over to Brass Bull with three other Huddle’s employees to help escort customers out of the building after the 911 call was placed. Gabbard said Richter was seen by witnesses using his arms to try and get people out of the door.
There are no reports of physical altercations between the workers and patrons at the bar.
Richter entered the Brass Bull at 1:30 a.m. and was shot at 1:32 a.m.
Blau said that due to the time frame and with probable cause purposes, it was apparent to the court that there was probable cause to believe that McKay drew his weapon with “purely the intent to cause the death of the victim.”
A trial will soon be scheduled, or the defendant can enter into a plea deal.
McKay is currently held in the Campbell County Detention Center. His bond remains at $1 million.
