The May 2025 shooting death of a 19-year-old Autryville man has been ruled a justifiable homicide, 5th Prosecutorial District Attorney Ernie Lee said earlier this week.
Lee said he came to that conclusion after a lengthy Sampson Sheriff’s Office investigation detailed the events that unfolded the day of the shooting, a probe that contained witness statements, autopsy results, photographs and video of the May 18, 2025 shooting death of Johnny Brian Guin Jr., of 357 Hayne Stretch Road.
“I have determined that Guin’s death, while tragic, was justified because his actions caused the individual who fired the fatal shots to reasonably believe it necessary to use deadly force to protect his life and the lives of others at the scene,” Lee said in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon, citing a release on the incident that detailed the probe.
Last May, just hours after the shooting occurred, Sheriff’s Capt. Marcus Smith told The Sampson Independent that the case was like a tangled maze.
“There is a unique set of circumstances surrounding this case,” Smith said about the shooting, which killed Guin and injured another 19-year-old Sampson man. For that reason, the captain said, officers were withholding the name of the second individual.
The injured man, Lee noted Wednesday, was not the shooter, and he stressed that the name of the 22-year-old Sampson man who fired the fatal shots that killed Guin would also not be released.
“Because this was justified, I won’t be releasing their names,” Lee stressed.
Details of the argument and impending confrontation at the 1696 Butler Island Road residence paint a picture of a party-like atmosphere on that Sunday afternoon, one where five of the six individuals present were drinking, according to reports, some partaking in marijuana use, after a trip to White Lake.
Guin, Lee noted, had a blood alcohol level of .28, which is 3.5 times the legal limit for driving, and was armed.
The investigation showed that around 5:30 p.m. that Sunday, two of those in the group, described as “boyfriend and girlfriend,” got into an argument while at White Lake. All six returned to the Butler Island residence — reportedly the home of the 19-year-old and his girlfriend — in three separate vehicles, where the argument between the two is reported to have continued.
“Words were being exchanged by the individuals, including the decedent (Guin) and, at some point, Guin pulled a gun, shooting at the 19-year-old’s feet,” Lee’s release on the investigation noted.
The teen moved toward Guin to try to get the gun away and, according to Lee’s release, Guin fired again, hitting the young man in the arm and injuring his pinkie finger.
Although sheriff’s reports note that there were “differing statements” as to the details of the shooting, all six witnesses told investigators that the injured 19-year-old was not armed.
But, the 22-year-old who killed Guin did have a weapon and reportedly pulled it after Guin shot the other teen in the arm, firing multiple times before leaving the scene and calling 911 to report he had shot the Autryville man because Guin had shot his friend.
Guin, the district attorney’s release pointed out, died at the scene.
Investigative notes show officers located a Glock 19 9mm firearm under Guin’s body after he was shot. Two shell casings from the 9mm handgun were located at the scene. The individual who fired the fatal shots had a Shadow System MR920 9mm handgun, and six 9mm casings were located by the officers. The evidence at the scene also showed, the report detailed, that a total of eight shell casings were located.
Lee said earlier in the week that all the evidence regarding the shooting pointed toward self-defense and the defense of others.
“The shooting death of Guin is found to be justified to protect the safety and lives of those at the scene from death or harm as perceived by the individuals at the scene. When the unarmed individual approached Guin, Guin did not have the right under North Carolina law to use deadly force to repel any perceived assault,” Lee wrote in his detailed release.
“The general rules of self-defense and defense of others in North Carolina allow for the use of deadly force when the individual actually, or honestly, believed in the need to defend himself or others from death or great bodily injury and the individual’s belief is reasonable considering the circumstances as they appeared to him at the time. From the facts and circumstances of this case, the individual who shot the fatal shots was justified in using deadly force to defend himself and others from death or great bodily injury by Guin, who had already shot and wounded one individual.”
The perceived danger to the individual using deadly force must be only apparent, not actual, to justify use of deadly force, the release continued. “Apparent danger is such that it would cause a reasonable person to believe that he or others were in danger of death or great bodily harm. Although there is evidence of actual danger to the individual, under the law there was also apparent danger. From the evidence, it reasonably appeared to the individual that there was sufficient basis for self-defense and defense of others. The facts in this case demonstrate the presence of apparent danger to the individuals present. A person may exercise such force if he believes it to be necessary and has reasonable grounds for such belief,” Lee noted in the release.
Autopy findings showed that Guin had died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds which caused damage to the spine, the liver, the heart and the diaphragm, with significant bleeding in the chest cavity. The autopsy, conducted by Dr. Paul Yell of the State Medical Examiner’s Office, did show six entrance wounds and five exit wounds, and noted that none of the shots were fired at close range nor at the defendant’s back.
Those findings, Lee indicated, were also factors in the decision to rule the incident a justified shooting.
“There is evidence that six shots were fired in rapid succession at the scene by the shooter. Guin was struck six times. There is no evidence that the number of shots fired by the shooter was excessive. Even if there are an excessive number of shots fired, the question is whether the perceived threat has been neutralized for the safety of the individual firing his weapon as well as others in the immediate area,” Lee stipulated in the release.
The district attorney said assistant DA Jason McGuirt had been in constant contact with sheriff’s investigators throughout the probe and had provided detailed updates to him. He further noted that McGuirt had met with Guin’s family in July 2025 and, while there was discussion of both self-defense and defense of others, family members were aware of the possibility that no charges would be filed in the case.
There were, he added, meetings between himself, McGuirt, investigators and Guin’s family throughout the investigation. And, on Wednesday, he and McGuirt met with investigators and the family again, informing them that no charges would be filed based upon the “defenses of self-defense and defense of others.”
He and McGuirt, Lee said, agreed on the findings and determined that the state could not meet the burden of proof to show the shooting was not self-defense nor defense of others.
“Based upon my review of the facts of this case, I have determined that the shooting of Guin on May 18, 2025, was justified to protect the safety and lives of the individuals on scene,” Lee wrote in his release. “The individual who fired the fatal shots perceived an apparent threat, evaluated the situation in seconds, decided, and acted. The individual’s actions appear reasonable under all the circumstances of this case. Guin shot and wounded one individual and then was confronted by the shooter. From the actions of Guin, the individual faced apparent danger as perceived by him. As tragic as this incident is with the loss of life, the individual on scene was nonetheless justified in defending himself and others from death or great bodily injury.”
Background
The Sampson Independent first reported the breaking news of the shooting around 7 p.m. Sunday, May 18, 2025, after receiving information that an injured man was being transported to the hospital, the victim of an apparent gunshot wound.
After reaching out to sheriff’s officials, a press release was issued just before 9 p.m. that Sunday confirming the shooting had taken place.
Smith noted in that release that deputies responded to a report of multiple shooting victims on Butler Island Road, Roseboro, and when they arrived, they determined that two males had been involved in an undisclosed disturbance and both were suffering from gunshot wounds.
One of the two, Guin, was confirmed dead.