Man sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting 30-year-old man in head in Spokane

A 33-year-old man who shot 30-year-old Dylan McCorkle in the head outside his Logan Neighborhood home was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison, according to the Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

A Spokane jury in March found Gunnar M. Doughty, a five-time felon, guilty of second-degree murder for the early morning shooting on Feb. 2, 2024 on the corner of Hamilton Street and Jackson Avenue.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Katie McNulty said during trial that McCorkle and Doughty got into an argument the night of Feb. 1, 2024, in which Doughty called McCorkle’s girlfriend a variety of bad names, upsetting McCorkle.

Shortly before 2 a.m. the next day, McCorkle, who lived two doors down from Doughty, walked to Doughty’s home to discuss the argument, McNulty said.

McCorkle was shirtless and indicated he was high on methamphetamine when Caisha Wilmoth, who knew both men, encountered McCorkle walking up and down the street minutes before the shooting, Wilmoth testified.

She told police in court documents she pleaded with McCorkle to walk back home and was aware Doughty was always armed with a gun. McCorkle instead walked onto the Hamilton Street property.

McCorkle called for Doughty to come out of the house. Doughty, who was armed with a 9 mm pistol, eventually came outside, stepped off the porch and into the front yard where McCorkle and Wilmoth stood.

McNulty said McCorkle, who was unarmed, asked Doughty, “What are you gonna do? Shoot me?” Doughty then fired one shot at point-blank range and ran away.

Doughty’s attorneys claimed their client fired in self-defense. Doughty pleaded guilty before the trial to unlawful possession of a firearm related to the shooting.

Doughty’s sentencing range was 16 to 25 years in prison, plus a five-year mandatory sentencing enhancement, the prosecutor’s office said in a news release. McNulty asked for 30 years in prison and the defense argued for 10 years, an “exceptional sentence” below the standard sentence range because McCorkle was a “willing participant” by showing up at Doughty’s house, the release said.

McNulty said Doughty was out on bond for a pending unlawful possession of a firearm charge at the time of the killing. She mentioned the intentional nature of Doughty’s firearm charges as he has four unlawful possession of a firearm convictions and a possession of a stolen firearm conviction, according to the release. Doughty continually possessed guns without permission and in defiance of court orders, McNulty said.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Julie McKay called the shooting “senseless violence” and imposed a sentence of 25 years, the midpoint of the standard sentence range.