An East Cobb homeowner set to go on trial next month for shooting a home contractor to death and seriously wounding another has been sentenced to life in prison.
During a plea hearing in Cobb Superior Court on Tuesday, Larry Epstein, 70, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to murder, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon while committing a felony, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s office.
He has been in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center since March 2019 for shooting Jake Horne, then 21, and Gordon Montcalm, then 38, who were leaving his home after doing some electrical contracting work.
Horne was sitting in a van outside Epstein’s home on Wellington Lane off Johnson Ferry Road on March 6, 2019 when he was shot execution-style in the head with a .22-caliber handgun with a suppressor, according to the Cobb DA’s office.
According to statements at Tuesday’s hearing, Montcalm was getting ready to leave in another vehicle and tried to get away, but Epstein fired his gun at him several times.
According to testimony offered at Tuesday’s hearing, Epstein’s wife arrived at the home just before police arrived, and Montcalm screamed at her that Epstein had shot him and Horne.
The Cobb DA’s office said Montcalm escaped to a neighboring home and wounds to his face, back and arms were treated by a nurse living at that home and who called 911.
Horne was taken off life support the following day at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, where Montcalm was hospitalized with long recovery.
“Epstein executed Jake, robbing him of life’s most precious experiences—owning a home, getting married, having children—at the young age of 21. And even though Montcalm survived, he is forever scarred, both physically and emotionally,” said Jesse Evans, the Cobb deputy chief assistant district attorney.
Horne’s uncle John Savell told the court the loss of his nephew leaves an “unfillable void,” according to the Cobb DA’s office, which said Montcalm did not attend the hearing but supported the case being resolved without a trial.
Cobb jury trials are set to resume in April after nearly a year of backlogs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this month Epstein’s attorney tried to delay the trial until August, saying that his client wanted to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before having a trial. Cobb Superior Court Judge Ann Harris also had ordered a psychiatric evaluation of Epstein, whose attorney has said in court filings suffers from mental illness.
At Tuesday’s hearing, prosecutors said that after officers arrived at the Epstein home, they discovered a surveillance camera video that showed part of the murder.
Police blocked off the street, and the Cobb DA’s office said that after Epstein surrendered peacefully, he waived his Miranda rights.
Testimony introduced at the hearing said during a search warrant at Epstein’s home, officers found firearms, including the murder weapon and the suppressor hidden in the garage.
Prosecutors aid the handgun was “positively linked by ballistics testing to the shootings of Horne and Montcalm.”
The day after Epstein’s arrest, his wife filed for divorce.
Harris called the incident an “irreparable tragedy” as she issued the life sentence.
Related stories
- 2 home contractors shot; homeowner charged
- East Cobb shooting victim, 21, dies
- Shooting survivor facing long recovery
- East Cobb homeowner indicted for murder
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
