Testimony: Man shot daughter’s ex-boyfriend then called police
In the wee hours of the morning on Feb. 3, Amos McGhee, 56, was roused from a deep sleep by his 21-year-old daughter Amy who came into his room crying and screaming. McGhee said it sounded like his daughter's abusive boyfriend was in the house. So he got dressed, grabbed a loaded .22 caliber pistol and walked downstairs. A few minutes later, McGhee shot and wounded Chase Dent-Wells, 25, in the basement of McGhee's Brooklyn Park home.
That's according to testimony today in the trial of Dent-Wells, who is charged with stalking, illegal possession of a firearm, terroristic threats and two counts of assault. On the witness stand in Hennepin County District Court, McGhee testified that before he fired, he asked Dent-Wells to leave several times. "What are you doing here? And didn't I tell you not to come to my house?" McGhee said he told the defendant, with his gun pointed toward the floor. McGhee said he even fired a warning shot near Dent-Wells that struck a lamp.
McGhee said he knew his daughter, who lived with him, had a volatile relationship with Dent-Wells. And he testified he'd seen his daughter with scratches on her face and a black eye from violent encounters with Dent-Wells. McGhee said he saw Dent-Wells take a silver gun out of his waistband. "I thought he was going to shoot me," said McGhee.
The court heard a different account from defense attorney Bobby Joe Champion. In his opening statement, Champion said Amy McGhee let Dent-Wells into the house so they could talk. The couple had recently split up and Champion says Dent-Wells was unarmed when he took a taxi to see Amy McGhee. Champion said Dent-Wells told the taxi driver not to leave until he got in the house, because he wasn't sure Amy McGhee would let him in.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
"If you really don't want someone at your house, call the police or get a restraining order," said Champion. But no one in the house called 911 until after the shooting.
Amos McGhee is legally prohibited from possessing a firearm because of past criminal convictions; however, he was not charged for possessing a gun on Feb. 3rd. Nor was he charged for shooting Dent-Wells. Champion raised the possibility that the 9 mm pistol McGhee alleges was pointed at him by Dent-Wells may have actually come from McGhee. Police searched McGhee's home two days after the shooting and found 9 mm ammunition in a bag in his bedroom. McGhee denied ownership of that 9mm gun.
McGhee did admit to buying the .22 caliber pistol he used to shoot Dent-Wells, even though he knows he's legally prohibited from possessing it. He testified he bought the gun for protection and he got it "off the street. From a personal owner," said McGhee. "I got the receipt for it."
Champion said evidence in the trial will show Dent-Wells was the victim, not the aggressor. Dent-Wells was struck three times by bullets fired from McGhee's gun. Champion says all shots hit him in the back of his body: one bullet hit Dent-Wells in the back of his head, another in his shoulder and the third struck his leg. He said that shows Dent-Wells was trying to get away when he was shot.
The trial continues this week.