A 32-year-old Coburg-area man has been sentenced to a decade in state prison for the 2024 shooting death of his mother's partner, closing a volatile case that was headed for a self-defense showdown in court.
Lane County Circuit Judge Jay McAlpin on Wednesday handed down a 10-year term after the defendant, Sean Joseph Lynn, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter. The sentence matched what both prosecutors and the victim's lawyer had urged the court to impose.
Deputies found the victim, 49-year-old Harrisburg resident Derrick Adam McKee, dead in August 2024 at a home on the 33000 block of Coleman Road north of Coburg. Lynn has been locked up since his Aug. 19, 2024 arrest and is expected to receive credit for that pre-sentence time.
Guilty Plea and Sentence
According to Lookout Eugene-Springfield, Lynn pleaded guilty on Jan. 26 to second-degree manslaughter after prosecutors reduced an original murder indictment.
At Wednesday's hearing, Judge McAlpin imposed the full 10-year prison term that prosecutors and the victim's defense attorney had jointly recommended. The plea deal avoided a trial that both sides agreed would have centered on two hot-button issues in Oregon homicide law: self-defense and extreme emotional disturbance.
The Shooting and the Arrest
On Aug. 19, 2024, Lane County Sheriff's deputies responded to a reported shooting at the Coleman Road address, joined by Oregon State Police and local agencies. Detectives arrested Lynn that same day, according to a news release from the Lane County Sheriff's Office.
The initial release identified the investigation as Case #24-4448 and named the victim as 49-year-old Derrick Adam McKee of Harrisburg.
Defense Account in Court Filings
In pre-sentencing filings, defense attorney Caitlin Plummer wrote that a trial would have focused heavily on "whether Mr. Lynn's use of his firearm was justified as self-defense," according to court documents.
Lynn told investigators that McKee warned he would "knock him out," moved toward him with a balled fist, and pushed him onto a bed shortly before the shooting, according to filings described by Lookout Eugene-Springfield.
What the Records Show
County booking records list Lynn's arrest date as Aug. 19, 2024, and his court case as 24CR42992. Those entries line up with the roughly 19 months of custody referenced in court and reflected in public records, including the Lane County inmate booking system.
The plea agreement reduced Lynn's exposure from a murder charge to second-degree manslaughter, a Class B felony. Under Oregon law, that offense carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison, per ORS 163.125, according to Justia.
Case Closed Without Trial
The 10-year sentence closes the case without a jury ever weighing in on the disputed details of the fatal confrontation inside the Coleman Road home. Court records and the county booking entry will remain part of the public file as Lynn is transferred to state custody to serve out the remainder of his term.
