Sunday FGS
Pickaway County jury finds man not guilty in fatal Circleville road rage shooting
Bethany Bruner
A Pickaway County jury acquitted a man of murder and other charges in an August 2024 shooting in Circleville.Jaison McLean, 42, of Stoutsville, was accused of fatally shooting 55-year-old David Raines Jr. on Aug. 13, 2024, during an altercation between the two men on the 700 block of South Pickaway Street.
A jury found him not guilty Oct. 23 of two counts of murder and one count of felonious assault, court records say. McLean argued at his trial, which began on Oct. 20, that he shot Raines in self-defense.
Ohio law requires prosecutors to prove a shooting was not in self-defense if a defendant brings the issue up at trial.
According to court records, McLean and Raines got into an argument as a result of a road rage incident. Raines swung at McLean, who pulled a gun and shot Raines a single time, hitting him in the chest.
Raines died a short time later at a nearby hospital.
Raines’s four adult children filed a wrongful death lawsuit against McLean several months after his death. That lawsuit was put on hold until the criminal case had ended, according to court records.
Raines was a U.S. Air Force veteran and previously worked for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
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The Pirate’s Cove
Not enough info in the above story to really determine the situation. It seems the jury agreed with the shooter but there is no indication of which of the two involved started the conflict.
I read tat Ohio law used to require the defendant to prove self-defense; sort of a Napoleonic “guilty till proven innocent” situation. The law was changed a while back to the DA having to prove your guilt.