Gavin MacFarlane, Strip-Club Shooter, Won't Get Death Penalty Because He's Insane, Says Victim's Family; Bond Raised After Tearful Plea by Family Members

Gavin MacFarlane, the Scottsdale man who shot and killed two people at a strip club in December of 2010, won't get the death penalty after being found mentally incompetent. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens raised MacFarlane's bond from $2 million to a cash bond of $5 million following...

By Ray Stern

February 21, 2013

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

Gavin MacFarlane, the Scottsdale man who shot and killed two people at a strip club in December of 2010, won't get the death penalty after being found mentally incompetent.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens raised MacFarlane's bond from $2 million to a cash bond of $5 million following emotional pleas by family members of one of the victims, Adam Cooley.

MacFarlane planned the shooting rampage, police learned during the investigation. After sitting in the club for a while, MacFarlane walked out to his car and retrieved a handgun, intending to shoot the first people he saw, for reasons only he knew.

Adam Cooley, 34, the Phoenix club's bouncer, was the first one shot. MacFarlane also shot 20-year-old Antonio Garcia, who was standing near the door. Both died. MacFarlane kept shooting, hitting three other people. One surviving victim was rendered a paraplegic, the courtroom learned today.

Cooley's brother, Terry, told Judge Stephens that MacFarlane's history is that he doesn't take his psychiatric medicine.

"Based on the history and facts, we feel he would be a danger if he was released to society," Terry Cooley said.

MacFarlane is charged with seven felonies, including first-degree murder.

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Phoenix New Times has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.

Ray Stern is the former news editor of Phoenix New Times. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Arizona for more than two decades. He's won numerous awards for his reporting, including the Arizona Press Club's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Journalism.