A judge sentenced a city man to 19 to 39 years in state prison yesterday after a jury found him guilty of shooting a man to death in the parking lot of a downtown bar.

Before handing down the sentence on April 1, Judge Jeffery Wright told Terrance Tyrone McCain, Jr. that he acted “intentionally and with malice” when he shot 38-year-old Edward Gardner three times in a city parking lot in 2023. A jury had found McCain, 40, guilty of third-degree murder and recklessly endangering another person following a three-day trial in November.

The sentence, Wright said, was appropriate for “the cold-blooded nature of the crime.”

Prior to being sentenced, McCain, formerly of the 300 block of Laurel Street, told the court he “did a horrible thing,” wanted to take accountability to his actions and apologized to Gardner’s family.

Gardner’s family members doubted the sincerity of McCain’s apology.

“It’s fallen on deaf ears over here,” one of Gardner’s older brothers told the court prior to the sentence being imposed.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Lapp, who prosecuted the case alongside First Assistant District Attorney Travis Anderson, argued that McCain had numerous opportunities to leave or de-escalate the situation before he shot Gardner outside the since-closed Capps Bar in the 900 block of South Duke Street during the early morning hours of Sept. 30, 2023.

Instead, Lapp said, video footage from outside the bar as well as a nearby business showed McCain retrieving a handgun from his vehicle while arguing with Gardner in the bar’s parking lot shortly after 1 a.m. McCain later racked the gun, loading a bullet into the chamber.

As the heated argument grew in intensity McCain approached Gardner face-to-face, where he brandished the weapon and fired once, striking several of Gardner’s vital organs. McCain then fired another two rounds into Gardner’s back before running away without rendering aid or calling for help.

Lapp argued that McCain’s actions were not those of an “impromptu” reaction in the heat of the moment, but were done “out of jealousy” and personal animus toward Gardner.

“He took the life of Eddy and then took off,” Lapp said.

The weapon McCain fired, Lapp noted, was never recovered.

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.

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

As part of his sentence McCain must also pay more than $14,500 in restitution.

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