There will be a paddle out from the Huntington Beach Pier this morning in memory of a surfer and final year law student who was shot to death in a tragic misunderstanding in Las Vegas last week.
Facebook: Paddle Out in Memory of Richard McGee
Richard Rizal McGee, better known to his family and friends as Ric, was fatally shot in the doorway of an apartment because the couple inside feared he was trying to break in. Actually, the 31-year-old thought he was loudly knocking and yelling to open up the door of the apartment of a friend he was staying with, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The Clark County coroner has ruled McGee's death a homicide, but Las Vegas Metro Police say the couple they have not identified will likely not face charges.
McGee was visiting his friend Jonathan Wade, whom met years earlier as counselors at the Boys and Girls Club of Orange County. After a night of partying at casinos with Wade and other friends, McGee apparently got separated from the group. He'd only visited Wade's apartment once before, and the doorway he darkened around 5 a.m. last Wednesday was actually on the other side of the building from his friend's entryway.
The couple residing in the apartment claim McGee yelled, screamed and pounded on the door and that they could not make out who he was when they looked through the peephole. They say they warned McGee they were armed before they called 9-1-1. Before police arrived, the door was shot through several times.
In the hours that followed, Wade became worried about his friend. Just before he was about to call police, a detective called him to inform McGee had been shot to death.
McGee's Facebook page indicates he was to graduate from Whittier Law School in 2016.
He was described as an “amazing young man who brought so many good memories, laughter and joy to all our lives” from the creators of the Paddle Out in Memory of Richard McGee Facebook page.
“He was such a unique and vibrant character who had an energy that sticks with us all. A guy who, though he had a very particular preference and taste, also had such an open heart and open mind to the diversity of friends he allowed to get to know his lifestyle and understanding of this world that we all strive for.”
His family invites the public to join them at the paddle out from the north side of Huntington Beach Pier at 6:30 this morning. Calm conditions are forecast. Those unable to paddle out or prefer not to can still show up to overlook the circle and lend their support.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.