In a twist to the ongoing legal saga, Terry McMillian Jr. has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and common law robbery, in relation to the 2022 death of Gary Rasor, an employee at Home Depot in Hillsborough. McMillian's plea, which came amid the jury's second day of deliberations, will result in a sentence of 97-129 months, a period that takes into account time already served since his 2023 arrest, as reported by ABC11 News.
During the trial, key pieces of evidence, including a surveillance video which CBS 17 described showing McMillian shoving the 82-year-old Rasor to the ground, were crucial in piecing together the events of the fateful day Rasor was injured leading to his eventual hospitalization and rehabilitation before his conditions worsened and he died at age 83, his death later ruled a homicide by the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, though the defense contested the findings, pointing to Rasor's pre-existing health conditions, including heart muscle enlargement and emphysema.
The defense maintained that Rasor's health issues played a significant role in his demise, discrediting the notion that McMillian's actions alone were to blame. Chapelboro highlighted the testimony of Associate Chief Medical Examiner Nabil Haikal, who acknowledged Rasor's underlying health issues but argued that the injuries from McMillian's assault severely strained his body and exacerbated these conditions.
The articles from multiple area outlets indicate that if McMillian had been convicted of the initial first-degree murder charge, he could have faced life imprisonment, however, with the guilty plea to the lesser charges, the court sentenced him to a reduced sentence which includes Special Superior Court Judge Clayton Somers ordering McMillian to serve between 8 to 10 years, although due to his imprisonment since the charges in 2023, that time will count towards the sentence, according to Chapelboro.
