Defendant Rejects Plea Offer in Homicide Case

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During a Nov. 18 hearing, the defendant rejected a plea offer given by the prosecution.

John McRae, 45, is charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection to the shooting of 22-year-old Marty McMillan on March 23, 2017, on the 1900 block of 13th Street, SE. He is also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

If McRae had pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder while armed, the sentence would have resulted in a range from 18 to 21 years of incarceration in prison and would be served concurrently to the sentence he is currently serving from a 2017 case.

The prosecution would have also reserved the right to request stepback pending sentencing, will withdraw any enhancement papers filed in this matter and reserve allocution and dismiss the remaining and greater charges contained in the indictment.

McMillan, and the woman McRae was in a relationship with, were having sex at his apartment. According to court documents, McRae walked in the apartment almost directly after the two finished having sex. Court documents also state that McMillan and the woman met on Plenty of Fish (pof.com), a dating website.

McRae then allegedly shot McMillan four times in the closet and then wrapped his body in a blanket and disposed of the body. It was not found for 6 months.

The trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 30 2023.

The prosecution expects 40-50 witnesses with seven to eight of them being experts.

The defense expects five to 10 witnesses with one of them being an expert.

The trial is anticipated to last about 3 weeks.

The next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2023

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