Man charged with murder found guilty of lesser charge in Lexington murder trial
A jury returned a lesser charge Thursday for a man on trial for murder in a 2023 shooting in downtown Lexington, finding him guilty of second-degree manslaughter in the case.
Scott Lawless, 34, was arrested May 28, 2023, after the shooting that left 35-year-old Kevin Van Huddleston Reel, of Owensboro, dead following a night out with friends.
Thursday evening, a Fayette County jury returned a guilty verdict on a count of second-degree manslaughter, which carries a penalty of five to 10 years in jail. The trial began Jan. 12, and the jury deliberated for five hours.
The jurors will now enter the sentencing phase of the trial, and Lawless could be eligible for parole after serving 85% of his sentence.
Attorneys present closing arguments
Lawless’ lawyers say he was trying to de-escalate a fight between Reel and another of Lawless’ friends when their client’s gun went off. They called it a “tragic accident.”
Tucker Richardson, Lawless’ attorney, asked jurors to consider lesser sentences for his client and said he was justified in defending his friend.
Richardson said the prosecutors didn’t meet their burden to prove that Lawless committed murder beyond any doubt.
“(Reel) set in motion terrible events causing an altercation with three strangers,” Richardson said.
But prosecutors say Lawless’ acts were deliberate.
“This was not a desperate act of survival by the defendant,” said Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Amanda Naish. “This was an act of violence.”
What happened the night of the shooting
Reel was acting “bizarre and aggressive” toward Lawless and his friends before he was shot, Richardson told jurors Monday during opening statements.
On Tuesday, during the second day of trial, prosecutors played police body camera footage of Richardson’s arrest.
In the footage Lawless can be heard explaining that he “put one in (Reel’s) belly,” after he was threatening his friend and fought over the gun Lawless eventually brandished.
Lawless and Reel did not know each other, the lawyer said, but came in contact outside a bar parking lot on North Limestone and North Upper Street, attorneys said.
Reel was shouting homophobic slurs and making comments about nihilism, Richardson said, and he had alcohol and cocaine in his system.
The situation escalated, and Reel shoved one of Lawless’ friends and began swatting at Lawless, who was holding a .357 revolver. Lawless shot Reel in the abdomen and Reel died shortly after from blood loss.
Witnesses gave conflicting testimony of the night that occurred two years ago, and said they could not fully recollect whether Reel had fought for Lawless’ gun.
DNA testing presented during the trial Wednesday confirmed Reel’s DNA was present on the gun’s barrel and trigger.
Prosecutors questioned several of Lawless’ friends on the stand. Naish said their testimony on the stand was different and “much worse” than what they originally told police.
This story was originally published January 15, 2026 at 1:58 PM.
