An Ephrata Township man was convicted of five counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter, five counts of aggravated assault, two counts of recklessly endangering a person and two counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied building for a shooting that took place around 1:30 a.m. on July 5, 2020.

Mark Ivie Jr., 21, opened fire at a group of men with an AR-15 rifle after an altercation at the Ivie’s Ephrata home on Blackberry Lane that began over a Snapchat argument.

The jury returned its verdict last Wednesday around 4 p.m. after about two and a half hours of deliberations. The jury listened to three days of testimony before beginning deliberations Wednesday around 1:30 p.m.

Attorneys gave closing arguments Wednesday morning before County Judge Donald Totaro who instructed the jurors on the law to be applied during deliberations.

“Apply your common sense to the evidence in this case,” First Deputy District Attorney Travis S. Anderson, who prosecuted the case, told the jurors in his closing statement. “Nothing that happened justified the defendant in opening fire, trying to take their lives, or shooting at them as they ran. There were other alternatives to opening fire that could’ve been tried and they were not.”

Neither Ivie ever called 911, according to testimony.

The jury previously heard testimony that a former coworker of Ivie Jr. posted a music video on Snapchat, which Ivie Jr. criticized, leading him to respond to the post and start an argument.

The former coworker, who had been having a Fourth of July cookout with five other friends, continued arguing with Ivie Jr. until the latter sent his Blackberry Lane address for the two to have a fistfight.

The six unarmed individuals showed up at the residence at Blackberry Lane as Ivie Jr. and his father, Mark Ivie Sr., waited out front of the house and went down to meet them on the sidewalk. Ivie Sr. possessed an AR-15 rifle.

A fight ensued between Ivie Jr. and a member of the group which went to the ground. Everyone got back to their feet and Ivie Sr. handed the gun to Ivie Jr. before the father threw a punch toward one of the men.

Immediately after, Ivie Jr. took off the safety and fired 14 rounds at the group of men, striking four of them while two bullets went into nearby houses.

The initial gunfire caused the men to run; video evidence showed Ivie Jr. maneuvering around a truck to continue firing.

“Within the first three or four shots, everyone is running away,” Anderson said. “But he keeps shooting. The defendant decided he wanted to win (the fight), and he made sure that he won.”

A neighboring home caught the entire incident on a surveillance system.

Sentencing has been scheduled for December 22, 2021. Ivie Jr. could be sentenced to more than a century in prison.

Anderson argued for Ivie Jr.’s bail to be increased to $2 million following the conviction due to the nature of the charges. Judge Totaro increased bail from $1 million to $1.5 million.

Ivie Jr. showed no emotion or reaction as the verdict was read by the foreman.

Mark Ivie Sr., 44, faces six charges of criminal conspiracy, six charges of aggravated assault and a charge of simple assault at his upcoming trial.  He is presumed innocent. 

Ephrata Police Detective Graeme Quinn filed charges, testified, and attended the entire trial.