In the early hours of April 22, 2019, the quiet of Shenandoah, Iowa, was broken by the sound of gunfire. Inside a residence at 901 Manti Street, 33-year-old Joshua Jordan, a Caucasian male, was shot and killed. The Shenandoah Police Department received a 911 call around 4:00 a.m. regarding the shooting. When officers arrived, they discovered Jordan deceased inside the home.
Witnesses at the scene were quick to identify the gunman as 34-year-old Toby Lee McCunn of Red Oak.
The investigation that followed painted a picture of a conflict that had been building for weeks. Authorities learned that McCunn had become obsessed with finding Jordan, who he believed was responsible for stealing some of his property. In his hunt for Jordan, McCunn had compiled a "suspect list" and had at least two prior confrontations with him. One such encounter in March allegedly involved Jordan pointing a revolver at McCunn's head and firing a warning shot into a wall, telling him, "the next one's going to count." Prosecutors argued that McCunn had spent days tracking Jordan, eventually luring him to the friend's home on Manti Street where the fatal showdown occurred.
A heavy law enforcement presence, including the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, descended on Shenandoah to search for the suspect. The search for McCunn lasted for hours. He was eventually located at another residence in Shenandoah and taken into custody without further incident shortly after 2 p.m. that same day. Before being booked into the Page County Jail, McCunn was taken to a local hospital for a gunshot wound to his leg, an injury sustained during the confrontation with Jordan. An autopsy would later confirm that Jordan died from two gunshot wounds, one that went through his lung and heart, and another that entered his back.
Toby McCunn was charged with first-degree murder. During his trial, the prosecution presented a case of a premeditated act, stating McCunn went to the house armed and waited to ambush Jordan. An eyewitness testified that McCunn fired the first of five shots. McCunn’s defense claimed he acted in self-defense, alleging that Jordan had dropped a gun which McCunn then picked up, and that it was Jordan who drew his weapon first. Despite these claims, a jury rejected his plea of justification and found Toby McCunn guilty of first-degree murder.
