- Brandon David Murphy was sentenced to 15 years to life for murder, a first-degree felony, after admitting to killing Timothy McCallum.
- McCallum, an innocent bystander, was shot in what was meant to be a confrontation over a botched drug deal.
- Three co-defendants await trial on related charges of murder.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after admitting to shooting and killing a man after the man opened the door of his South Salt Lake apartment.
Brandon David Murphy, 30, was sentenced Friday by 3rd District Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills for a reduced charge of murder, a first-degree felony.
After someone else had purchased meth, Murphy texted a woman to say he thought they had been ripped off because the drugs were not good. Murphy and two other men went to confront the seller at his apartment, according to charging documents.
Surveillance video shows a car arriving at the apartment near 900 West and 4000 South on May 21, and three men getting out, leaving a woman in the car. Murphy and one other man had ankle monitors that placed them at the crime scene, investigators said.
Timothy Clark McCallum, 56 — who police say was an "innocent man" and not the person who sold the drugs — opened the door and was shot in the eye.
"Murphy escalated the situation by taking a gun and pulling it on the victim, who had nothing to do with the drug deal," charges state.
McCallum's body wasn't discovered until another resident returned to the apartment the next day. Investigators say he was found with a "less-lethal" gun, similar to a paint gun, that was next to him with the safety still on.
Murphy pleaded guilty on March 23 as part of a plea deal that dismissed additional charges for aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary, first-degree felonies, in addition to prohibited conduct with a firearm and obstruction of justice, second-degree felonies. The murder charge was reduced from an an aggravated murder charge.
He is the first of four defendants charged in the same killing to be convicted.
Michael Lynn Angus, 51, has pleaded not guilty and is seeking to have his murder charge dismissed. A judge will rule on that motion during a hearing on Aug. 5. Charges accuse Angus of supplying the gun Murphy used.
Noah Brady Angus, 28, also pleaded not guilty to murder, a first-degree felony, and his next hearing is June 22. He is accused of facilitating the drug deal ahead of the killing.
Sheraya Lyn Ridgway, 30, was charged months after the other three with murder, a first-degree felony, and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, after charges say she admitted to being in the vehicle when the shooting happened, knowing they had firearms. She also pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for a hearing on June 8.
