MUNCIE, Ind. — A 20-year-old Anderson man was found guilty of murder Thursday by a Delaware Circuit Court 5 jury.
Attorneys for Alexander Thomas Eugene Geesy failed in a bid to persuade jurors that he was acting in self-defense when he fired the gunshot — on July 22, 2022 — that fatally wounded 38-year-old William Randall Coomer Jr.
The slaying took place at a pioneer cemetery near Coomer's home, along Delaware County Road 500 West north of the Delaware-Henry county line.
Deputy prosecutors Andrew Ramirez and Lexi Starost presented testimony during this week's trial indicating Coomer — who was involved in a confrontation with Geesy, his brother and a group of their friends at the cemetery — was leaving the scene when he was shot in the back.
The bullet passed through the victim's torso, exiting his chest, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
More: Delaware County woman recalls events leading to husband's fatal 2022 shooting
Coomer's wife, Stephanie, testified Tuesday that the shooting took place after the occupants of two vehicles — those her husband found a few minutes later at Sharp Cemetery — shouted at her as they drove past the Coomer residence, with at least one person displaying an obscene gesture.
While Stephanie Coomer maintained her husband was calm and in an especially good mood before the confrontation, two defense witnesses who were at the cemetery that day said William Randall Coomer was enraged over his wife being "flipped off."
The witnesses — the mother and son of Geesy's girlfriend — said Coomer cursed at them and struck Geesy's brother, Ryan, in the head, knocking him down.
When Alexander Geesy produced a handgun and ordered Coomer to the ground, the witnesses said, the Delaware County man scoffed at him and made a remark they believed indicated he intended to retrieve a firearm from his nearby pickup truck and shoot them.
Alexander Geesy, who did not testify at the trial, told Delaware County sheriff's deputies he had fired shots in a bid to protect himself, his friends and brother from Coomer.
He maintained he had not intended to seriously injure the Delaware County man.
In her closing argument on Thursday, defense attorney Carman Malone said Geesy "didn't want to shoot Randall (and) he definitely did not want to kill him."
Malone referred to the shooting victim as "a bully who came looking for trouble."
"(Coomer) instigated the whole event," she said. "It was unprovoked."
Malone and fellow defense attorney Sam Beasley maintained their client had a legitimate reason to fear that Coomer was going to retrieve the handgun that was stored in his truck.
"Just because Randall Coomer was shot in the back, it doesn't mean a murder occurred," Malone said.
In his closing remarks, Ramirez said the witnesses to the confrontation who testified Wednesday had — in the nearly two years since the slaying occurred — given inconsistent accounts of what they saw.
He maintained Coomer was "running away" when shot.
Geesy, his brother and girlfriend fled to Tennessee after the homicide but returned to Delaware County a few days later and surrendered.
In Indiana, a murder conviction carries a maximum 65-year prison term.
The jury also found Geesy guilty of obstruction of justice, a Level 6 felony with a maximum 30-month sentence, and in separate proceedings ruled the Anderson man had used a firearm in committing the murder, a finding that could add up to 20 years to his prison term.
Judge Thomas Cannon Jr. set sentencing for July 26.
In a release issued by the prosecutor's office after the verdicts were returned, Ramirez said, "Although nothing can bring back the life of William Coomer, the victim in this case, I hope that these verdicts will be the first step on the long road to healing for the victim’s family.”
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Jury finds Anderson man guilty of murder in Delaware County cemetery shooting
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