Matthew McNevin was scheduled for a motions hearing yesterday in Indiana County Court. But the 20-year-old Rayne Township man instead pleaded guilty to third degree murder and aggravated assault in the shooting death of 21-year-old Carlos Recalde-Campos of Indiana and the wounding of Samantha Jo Riley of Indiana. The fatal confrontation occurred March 25th of last year at an Oakland Avenue rental home during the IUPattys event.
Indiana County District Attorney Pat Dougherty says McNevin faces a maximum of forty years in prison for third degree murder and twenty years for aggravated assault. He will be sentenced by Judge William Martin on May 11th.
McNevin had been involved in a fight with Recalde-Campos the week before the shooting. He was seen on a social media posting on the night of the shooting waving a stolen gun and boasting that he was going after the victim. Police say the gun came from 20-year-old Matthew Ohler Jr. of Indiana, who is awaiting trial for conspiracy to commit homicide, aggravated assault, and recklessly endangering another person. Ohler, according to police, is a dealer in stolen guns.
Additional charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, two counts of recklessly endangering, receiving stolen property, and a firearms violation against McNevin will not be prosecuted. Dougerty says Riley was an innocent bystander and it may have been difficult to prove attempted homicide in her case. Riley was shot in the ribcage during the confrontation.
McNevin faces charges of institutional vandalism and fighting, plus assaulting a guard at the Indiana County Jail in separate cases last fall. Those two criminal cases will likely be adjudicated before his sentencing in May.
