Dayton man found guilty of murder — again — in retrial for 2017 shooting

Appeals court overturned first conviction due to incorrect jury instructions on self-defense.

A murder retrial this week ended the same way — with a guilty verdict — for a 41-year-old man whose first conviction was overturned in the November 2017 shooting death of a 21-year-old man in Dayton

Lance Antonio Irvin of Dayton was convicted Thursday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court of murder and two counts of felonious assault. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 24, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.

Irvin’s previous sentence in May 2019 was for 20½ years to life in prison for the Nov. 14, 2017, shooting death of Jesse Samuel Redavide at his brother’s residence in the 100 block of South Horton Street.

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

In September, the Second District Court of Appeals in Dayton overturned Irvin’s conviction for the murder and felonious assault charges after ruling he was entitled to a self-defense jury instruction.

During the first trial, Irvin admitted to the shooting, but claimed he acted in self-defense. He testified that early the morning of the shooting that when he drove to his friend Joseph Redavide’s home to get some food and drugs he was met at the door by his brother, Jesse Redavide, who reportedly appeared intoxicated used racial slurs against him before he “monkey dunked,” or slammed him to the ground, and hit him in the head with a rifle, according to court documents.

Irvin testified he got to his feet and and shot Jesse Redavide because he feared for his life. Additional testimony from Irvin and witnesses indicated that Irvin was standing beside an open door. Although Irvin did not say whether the rifle was pointed at him, witnesses said Redavide’s hands were in the air when he was shot, court records stated.

In 2019, Ohio law changed to shift the burden of proof of self-defense “from the defendant to the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused did not use force in self-defense.” A subsequent decision stated the amended version of the self-defense statute applied to trials held on or after the amendment’s effective date even of the offenses happened earlier.

“We conclude that Irvin was entitled to a self-defense jury instruction and that the trial court’s erroneous instruction placing the burden of proof on him was not harmless,” the ruling stated.

The appeals court affirmed Irvin’s conviction for tampering with evidence.

After the shooting, Irvin fled in his SUV and threw the gun into bushes on Linden Avenue and drove to a relative’s house. However, he got the wrong house and was out of gas so he walked the rest of the way to his stepmother’s house, where he was arrested later that day, according to court documents.

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