Appearing in Columbia County Circuit Court Thursday morning for the first time since his initial arrest proceedings, first-degree murder suspect Keith D. McBride, along with the state, and Judge David Talley agreed to continue, or push, the case until Sept. 6, as all parties await crime lab results from the County Rd. 30 murder scene. McBride, 38, of Magnolia was arrested following a vehicle fleeing incident the afternoon of May 11 after that morning allegedly shooting and killing 28-year-old Janika D. Rankin of Waldo.
Once the crime lab results return, both sides – prosecution and defense – will then be able to negotiate plea offers or make their next moves in the case. At this time, no official plea of guilty or not guilty has been issued by McBride or his legal reps.
“Lab reports will be very important given seriousness of the charges here,” said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Phillips.
McBride, formerly assigned representation from the Public Defender’s Office, is now represented by Attorney Rickey Hicks of Little Rock. In addition to the murder charge – which could carry a sentence of life in prison, if convicted – the defendant is also charged with possession of a firearm by a certain person (felon) and felony fleeing. McBride is also listed as a “habitual offender,” according to court documents.
A recently released police affidavit states that, on the morning of May 11, Rankin and McBride were heard arguing by another household member before the two discussed what to eat and drink for breakfast. A short time later, after Rankin entered a doorway, the witness stated that he heard a gunshot and the victim scream, according to the affidavit.
The police document goes on to say that McBride took the victim’s car keys after the gunshot and placed firearms into another car in the front yard, before leaving in Rankin’s gold Grand Marquise. He then allegedly returned to the home again.
“McBride came back and asked [the witness] to grab the guns and put them into the vehicle he was in,” read the affidavit.
The witness refused and had his mother inside the home call 9-1-1, according to the report.
When emergency personnel arrived, they found the victim with a gunshot wound to the right hand and the chest. She was rushed to Magnolia Regional Medical Center where she did not survive.
Another witness told police that Rankin had expressed concern before the incident because McBride had guns when he was lawfully not supposed to and that the two had been having “problems” as McBride was “very paranoid,” according to the affidavit.
McBride, when later speaking to authorities, confessed that he was in the room with a single shotgun and had been “paranoid for a few days and he thought someone was trying to get him.” McBride went on to say that he knew he shouldn’t have the firearms.
“When he heard someone come to his room, he pulled the trigger on the gun and realized Rankin was hit,” said the affidavit.
He was also said to have “ditched” the guns afterward.
On May 3, just before the alleged murder incident, McBride was released from the local detention facility after he spent 27 days in jail. He was charged with possession of a firearm by a certain person and possession of a defaced firearm stemming from an early morning Feb. 11 incident where police found McBride behind the wheel, asleep, and in a ditch at 804 North Madison Street with loaded Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and no serial numbers or stock, according to a police affidavit.
He was booked on April 9. On May 3, McBride struck a plea deal and received five years probation.
The prosecution is scheduled to be meet with the victim’s family in two weeks to discuss any potential offer terms.
McBride is currently being held on $1 million bond in the Columbia County Detention Center. If he decided to enter a plea on not guilty, the case would advance to a jury trial.