Commonwealth secures guilty verdict of city man for shooting man to death in 2023 following jury trial

A Lancaster County jury convicted a city man of shooting a man to death in the parking lot of a downtown bar following a three-day trial last week.

The jury found Terrance Tyrone McCain, Jr., formerly of the 300 block of Laurel Street, guilty on Thursday of third-degree murder and recklessly endangering another person.

McCain, 39, shot 38-year-old Edward Gardner three times in a parking lot outside the since-closed Capps Bar in the 900 block of South Duke Street during the early morning hours of Sept. 30, 2023.

Though Gardner was rushed to a local hospital in a private vehicle he eventually succumbed to his injuries, which included a bullet which struck and was lodged in his heart.

Video footage from outside the bar as well as a nearby business showed McCain retrieving a handgun from his vehicle before arguing with Gardner in the bar’s parking lot shortly after 1 a.m.

As the heated argument grew in intensity McCain approached Gardner face-to-face, where he brandished the weapon and fired it three times.

Eyewitnesses, though not knowing McCain’s real name, immediately identified him as the shooter. Investigators were able to specifically identify McCain on social media.

The jury returned a guilty verdict after about 11 hours of deliberation.

Judge Jeffery Wright, who presided over the trial, is scheduled to sentence McCain at a later date.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Lapp and First Assistant District Attorney Travis Anderson prosecuted the case.

Lancaster City Bureau of Police Det. Ryan Burgett filed the charges. Det. James Boas represented city police during the trial.