In NORRISTOWN, a jury concluded that a man from Philadelphia didn't mean to kill another man when he shot at the unarmed victim multiple times, causing serious injuries, including the loss of his testicles, in a dispute at a Lower Merion parking lot.
The 37-year-old Parnell Christopher Glover, who lives on East Cliveden Street, was acquitted of attempted homicide in Montgomery County Court on Wednesday regarding the shooting incident on the parking lot of the former Lord & Taylor store on East City Avenue in Lower Merion on June 18, 2023.
The jury of six men and six women sided with defense lawyers Eric Scott Donato and Prince Yakubu, agreeing that Glover didn't have the specific intent to kill when he shot five times at the victim during an altercation that happened during a Father’s Day custody exchange involving Glover’s toddler son.
Glover, who claimed self-defense during the altercation, showed no reaction to the verdict. The jury took about 2½ hours to deliberate before reaching the verdict after hearing three days of testimony.
Although acquitted of the most serious charge, Glover was convicted of several other charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, recklessly endangering other persons, simple assault, and endangering the welfare of a child, due to injuries suffered by the victim and by Glover’s 5-year-old son, who was hit by a bullet during the gunfire.
Judge Thomas M. DelRicci postponed sentencing until later in the year to allow court officials to finish a background investigation report about Glover, including a mental health evaluation. Glover told the judge he had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after the shooting.
Glover, a University of Pittsburgh graduate with a business finance degree, potentially faces several years in prison for the charges he was convicted of.
During the trial, Assistant District Attorney Tanner Christian Beck argued that Glover was upset that the victim was dating his ex-girlfriend, the mother of Glover’s child, and was becoming a father figure to his son.
Prosecutors presented jurors with numerous text message exchanges between Glover and the victim over several months to show the growing animosity between them. In some of those exchanges, Glover objected to the victim performing fatherly duties like bathing his son, and the victim threatened to beat up Glover, as per testimony.
Beck and co-prosecutor Bradley Walter Deckel contended that Glover had the specific intent to kill when he shot at the victim during the altercation, which involved shoving and punching.
During his closing statement to the jury, Beck argued that the defendant escalated the conflict from a physical fight to shooting the victim multiple times and each time he pulled the trigger, he demonstrated his intent.
In his opening statement to jurors, Deckel argued that the specific intention to kill can develop rapidly and that Glover, through his actions, disregarded the risk of causing harm to others, including his child.
Beck argued that Glover did not have a reasonable belief that he needed to use deadly force during a physical fight. Beck also pointed out that Glover had a duty to retreat from the situation, which he chose not to do.
Beck suggested that Glover ceased shooting at the victim when he realized a bullet had struck his son. At that point, he switched into "Dad mode" and went to help his child.
However, Donato argued that Glover acted in self-defense when he was attacked by the victim.
During his closing statement to the jury, Donato argued that Glover was attacked and he did what he felt was necessary to repel the attacker. The fear and danger Mr. Glover experienced were real, according to Donato.
Referring to Glover’s testimony, Donato argued that the victim initiated the altercation by shoving and punching first. Defense lawyers claimed that the prosecutors lacked enough evidence to support the charges.
Donato argued that Mr. Glover was lawfully defending himself that day and he did not intend for anyone to die. Donato asserted that Glover did not have a specific intent to kill.
Yakubu mentioned that the absence of video surveillance made the jury's job challenging in establishing certainty.
Yakubu argued in his opening statement that the lack of video footage created uncertainty in the case.
The investigation began at around 8 a.m. on June 18 when Lower Merion police responded to a report of a shooting in the parking lot on East City Avenue.
Upon arrival, officers found the victim lying on Belmont Avenue, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, outside his girlfriend’s vehicle. The victim's girlfriend identified Glover as the shooter, according to the criminal complaint.
Police found Glover outside his vehicle on the nearby parking lot and discovered his son with a gunshot wound in the front seat. Glover cooperated with the police and directed them to a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm semiautomatic handgun in the back seat.
Glover had a license to carry a firearm and was legally in possession of it at the time of the incident.
Investigators discovered five 9mm fired bullet casings on the parking lot.
It was revealed in testimony that the shooting took place during a planned custody exchange at the parking lot, where Glover and his ex-girlfriend met for him to take custody of his son for Father’s Day. The victim, who was dating Glover’s ex-girlfriend, was also in the woman’s vehicle.
The victim stated that as he was trying to retrieve the 5-year-old boy from a car seat for the custody exchange, Glover stood directly behind him and he asked Glover to move away many times. The victim said he pushed Glover away and that during the exchange, Glover gestured to his hip where he had a firearm.
The victim alleged that Glover hit him in the face and that he hit back. According to the victim’s testimony, Glover then pulled out his gun and shot at the victim multiple times, hitting him at least four times. The victim got back into the vehicle with his girlfriend and their infant daughter, and the girlfriend drove toward Belmont Avenue to escape and called 911, according to the testimony.
The victim was taken to a Philadelphia hospital where he had surgery for multiple gunshot wounds, including to his scrotum and intestines and two to his back. The victim’s testicles had to be removed, according to the testimony.
However, when Glover testified in his defense, he stated that the victim pushed him twice and repeatedly punched him without provocation.
“He’s coming towards me and I’m trying to avoid the punches. I didn't know if this guy had any weapon but I thought it was a possibility,” Glover testified, admitting, however, that he never saw the victim with a weapon. “He’s right on me, punching me. I just wanted to get the guy away from me.”
Glover confessed to grabbing his gun and firing what he believed were three shots.
“Everything was happening so quickly. I wasn't trying to kill the guy,” Glover informed the jury.
Glover then noticed his son had been injured, went to help his son, and called 911.
Testimony indicated that after police arrested him, Glover cried and showed concern for his son and the victim's well-being.
“I couldn't believe this happened,” Glover testified.
