MARTINEZ — The fate of a 54-year-old Antioch man accused of killing a 47-year-old Pittsburg man in an ambush more than three years ago now rests in the hands of a Contra Costa County jury.
Darrin “Mississippi” Lynch is charged with the murder of Andrew McCoy, who was shot to death May 6, 2019, on Shoreline Drive in Pittsburg. Prosecutors contend that GPS evidence from Lynch’s phone, surveillance video near the scene of the shooting and witness testimony identify Lynch as McCoy’s killer.
Lynch’s attorney, meanwhile, maintains it is impossible to tell who killed McCoy, that two key witnesses are “liars” who were “spoon fed” stories by police and that electronic evidence is more complicated than prosecutors make it seem.
“If you want to get justice for Andy McCoy, then do right by Darrin Lynch. …Tell the police, ‘Get the right guy,’ ” Lynch’s attorney, Austin Thompson, told jurors Monday.
According to Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Tompkins, GPS records show Lynch travelled from downtown Pittsburg to the scene of the shooting and concurrent surveillance video shows a man with a cellphone leaving the first area and getting into a pickup truck. Tompkins said a little before midnight on the day of the shooting, Lynch waited in a bush for two minutes, hopped out when he saw McCoy, yelled “Hey bro” and opened fire, shooting him in the back.
“There is no more cowardly way to murder someone,” Tompkins said.
One thing Tompkins could not explain was why the shooting occurred. She pointed to witness testimony that McCoy and Lynch had argued nearly a month earlier near the Pittsburg waterfront, and concluded that Lynch was simply a “self-important person” who “for some reason” decided to go after McCoy.
“Who knows why the defendant thought he had the right to take Mr. McCoy’s life,” she said. “Who knows why? We’re not going to know.”
Tompkins also referred to McCoy’s own dying declaration. He reportedly told the first officer to arrive at the scene that his killer had a gray goatee, which Lynch had. McCoy was rushed to an area hospital but died the next morning.
Thompson accused the government of “cherry picking” surveillance tapes and said McCoy’s last words to police indicated he did not know his killer.
“He doesn’t say it’s Mississippi, he doesn’t say it’s the guy from the marina, he doesn’t say it’s Darrin Lynch,” Thompson said. “And he would have if it was.”
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