Philadelphia man acquitted of attempted murder in shooting man during custody exchange in Lower Merion

Parnell Glover is escorted from a Montgomery County courtroom during a break in the trial on April 3, 2024. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)

NORRISTOWN – A jury concluded that a Philadelphia man did not intend to kill another man when he fired multiple shots at the unarmed victim during an altercation in a Lower Merion parking lot, causing serious injuries, including the Loss of his testicles.

Parnell Christopher Glover, 37, of the East Cliveden Street block, was acquitted Wednesday in Montgomery County Court of attempted murder charges in connection with the June 18, 2023, shooting in the parking lot of the former Lord & Taylor store in 100 block of East City Avenue in Lower Merion.

Parnell Glover is escorted from a Montgomery County courtroom by a deputy sheriff on April 2, 2024, during a break in his attempted murder trial. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)

In reaching its verdict, the jury of six men and six women agreed with defense attorneys Eric Scott Donato and Prince Yakubu that Glover did not have the specific intent to kill when he fired five shots at the victim during an altercation during Father's Day exchanges with Glovers little son.

Glover, who claimed he acted in self-defense during the altercation, did not respond to the verdict. The jury deliberated for about two and a half hours before reaching its verdict after three days of testimony.

Parnell Glover is escorted from a Montgomery County courtroom during a break in the trial on April 3, 2024. (Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)

While the jury acquitted Glover of the most serious charge against him, it convicted him of numerous other charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, recklessly endangering another person, simple assault and endangering the welfare of a child related to injuries sustained by the victim as well Glover's 5-year-old son, who suffered a gunshot wound to the foot when one of the bullets accidentally hit him during the exchange of gunfire.

Judge Thomas M. DelRicci postponed sentencing until later this year so that court officials could complete a background investigation report on Glover, including a mental health evaluation. Glover told the judge that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after the shooting.

Glover, a University of Pittsburgh graduate with a degree in corporate finance, faces potentially several years in prison on the charges for which he was convicted.

During the trial, Assistant District Attorney Tanner Christian Beck argued that Glover was upset that the victim was dating his former girlfriend, the mother of Glover's child, and became a father figure to his son.

Prosecutors showed jurors numerous text messages exchanged between Glover and the victim over several months as evidence of growing animosity between the men. During some of those arguments, Glover objected to the victim performing fatherly duties, such as bathing his son, and the victim threatened to beat Glover, according to testimony.

Beck and co-prosecutor Bradley Walter Lid argued that Glover had specific intent to kill when he fired shots at the victim during the altercation and also pushed and punched her.

“He escalated things from a fist fight to shooting someone several times. “Every time he pulled the trigger, he told you what his intention was,” Beck argued in his closing statement to the jury.

Parnell Glover is escorted by a deputy sheriff from a Montgomery County courtroom on April 3, 2024. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)

Lid argued in his opening statement to the jury that “the specific intent to kill can arise very quickly” and that Glover's conduct disregarded the risk that he could cause bodily harm to others, including his child.

Beck argued that Glover did not have a reasonable belief that he needed to use deadly force in a fistfight. Beck added: “He had a duty to withdraw from this incident and he chose not to.”

Beck suspected Glover stopped shooting the victim because he realized his little boy had also been struck by a bullet and went into “dad mode” to help his son.

But Donato argued Glover acted in self-defense when the victim attacked him.

“He was attacked and did what he felt was necessary to get the attacker away from him. The danger was real. The fear Mr. Glover felt was real. “He was unexpectedly attacked by a man who had threatened him in the past,” Donato argued in his closing argument to the jury.

Referring to Glover's statement, Donato argued that the victim initiated the altercation with the first push and punch. Defense attorneys argued that prosecutors did not present enough evidence to support the charges.

“Mr. Glover was legally defending himself that day. At no time did he want anyone to die. Mr. Glover had no specific intent to kill,” Donato argued.

Yakubu suggested the jury's job was made more difficult by the lack of video surveillance cameras in the parking lot that captured the altercation and shooting.

“A video gives certainty, and we don’t have that here,” Yakubu argued in his opening statement.

Sheriff's deputies escort Parnell Glover from a Montgomery County courtroom during a break in his trial April 3, 2024. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)

The investigation began shortly after 8 a.m. June 18 when Lower Merion police responded to the East City Avenue parking lot for a report of a shooting.

Arriving officers found the victim lying in front of his girlfriend's vehicle on Belmont Avenue with multiple gunshot wounds. The victim was accompanied by his girlfriend and her six-month-old daughter, who was sitting in her car seat in the vehicle. According to the criminal complaint filed by Lower Merion Detective David Herbst, the victim's girlfriend identified Glover, the father of her 5-year-old son, as the shooter.

Police found Glover standing outside his vehicle in the nearby parking lot of the former Lord & Taylor store and discovered the five-year-old boy sitting in the front seat of Glover's vehicle with a gunshot wound to his left foot. Glover cooperated and sent police to the back seat, where they found a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic pistol.

Glover had a license to carry a firearm at the time of the incident and was legally in possession of it.

Investigators found five fired 9mm shell casings in the parking lot.

Witness accounts indicate the shooting occurred during a prearranged custody exchange in the parking lot where Glover and his former girlfriend were meeting so he could take custody of his son for Father's Day. The victim, who was with Glover's ex-girlfriend, was also in the woman's vehicle.

The victim testified that when Glover tried to get the five-year-old boy out of the car seat for the custody exchange, he leaned directly against his back and asked Glover to back up several times. The victim testified that he pushed Glover away and that during the conversation Glover pointed to his hip where he was carrying a firearm.

The victim claimed Glover punched him in the face and he returned a punch. According to the victim's statement, Glover then drew his firearm and fired several shots at the victim, hitting him at least four times. The victim got back into the vehicle with his girlfriend and her young daughter, and the girlfriend drove toward Belmont Avenue to escape and called 911, according to the statement.

The victim was taken to a Philadelphia hospital where he underwent surgery for multiple gunshot wounds, including to the scrotum and intestines and two to the back. The victim's testicles had to be removed, according to witness statements.

But when Glover took the stand in his own defense, he testified that the victim pushed him twice and punched him repeatedly, all for no reason.

“He moves towards me and I try to block the punches. “I didn’t know if this guy had a gun, but I thought it was a possibility,” Glover testified, but acknowledged he never saw the victim with a gun. “He came straight at me and hit me. I just wanted to get the guy away from me.”

Glover admitted to grabbing his gun and firing what he believed to be three shots.

“Everything happened so quickly. I wasn’t trying to kill the guy,” Glover told the jury.

Glover said he then realized his son had been injured, went to his son's aid and called 911.

Testimony revealed that after police took him into custody, Glover cried and expressed concern for the well-being of his son and the victim.

“I couldn’t believe this was happening,” Glover testified.