This morning, Trace Thomas McDowell, 24, of Lehigh Acres, was adjudicated guilty for one count of Manslaughter with a Weapon, a First-Degree Felony. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison.
On January 1, 2022, officers with the Cape Coral Police Department responded to a disturbance at an apartment complex in Cape Coral. McDowell was found behind the complex in an agitated state and the victim was found in an apartment, shot to death.
The defendant admitted doing drugs and having a “bad trip” on hallucinogens during a New Year’s Eve celebration, leading to the shooting of his friend.
Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner, of the State Attorney’s Office Homicide Unit, prosecuted the case.
Samantha Syoen – Communications Director, State Attorney’s Office