McCune pleads guilty to murder

Accepts plea agreement in shooting death

PARKERSBURG -- Donovan McCune has agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder in the May 2022 shooting death of Terrence (T.J.) Mills Jr. and is prepared to be sentenced to 40 years in prison.

McCune appeared in the Wood County Circuit Court of Judge Jason Wharton on Thursday to enter a plea with his attorney Courtney Craig. Trial was originally set for next week.

Wood County Prosecutor Pat Lefebure recounted the facts of the case where Mills was going to meet Dezaray Lynn Roberts of Vienna to sell her some marijuana on May 17, 2022.

Roberts, along with Justin Keel and McCune, planned to rob him of the marijuana in an alleyway near Covert Street.

At the meeting, Keel and Donavan rushed at Mills with shots fired where one shot hit Mills. Roberts, Keel and McCune fled the scene in her 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Mills fled the scene but collapsed in a flowerbed of a nearby house. He succumbed to his injuries after being transported to the hospital.

Roberts entered a plea of guilty in December 2022 to first-degree robbery and was sentenced to 15 years in prison and agreed to testify in related hearings. Keel went to trial in February and was found guilty of felony murder, robbery in the first-degree, presentation of a firearm during the commission of a felony and conspiracy to commit a felony. Keel was sentenced to life in prison, pursuant to the jury's recommendation of mercy which could make him eligible for parole in 15 years.

McCune entered into what is referred to as an "Alford Plea" which court officials said is similar to pleading no contest to a charge. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

"The plea is really for the family in getting a measure of closure and justice," Lefebure said. "They don't have to relive and go back through the events of May 2022.

"Pursuant to their desires and wishes, they did not want to have to go through that again, go through the stress and rigors of the trial."

McCune was already convicted of a charge of second-degree robbery and was already serving a sentence of 5-18 years, Lefebure said. The sentence for the murder charge will run consecutively to that.

As part of the plea, McCune answered in the affirmative when asked if he believes the state has evidence a jury could arrive at a guilty verdict if the case would go to trial.

"It allows me to remain silent and has no effect on my other case," he said.

All other charges will be dismissed.

During the sentencing hearing, McCune admitted he had taken a controlled substance that was not prescribed to him "a couple months ago" while he was incarcerated.

Because of other hearings going on in his court, Wharton could not immediately do sentencing on Thursday.

Sentencing is set for 1 p.m. Oct. 9.

Donna Mills, T.J.'s mother, said she feels very good about the decision for the court to accept the plea agreement.

"I didn't really want to go back to trial," she said. "Doing a plea, it is what I and the whole family wanted.

"We are good with the decision. I did get justice for my son."

She expressed her gratitude to Lefebure, the prosecutors and police who worked the case, the victim's advocate.

"They have become like family," she said. "It has been a long two years, a long two years. I am glad it is almost over."

McCune's sentencing is all that is left for the family to see through.

"This is it," Mills said. "Maybe now we can all start healing."

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com