CINCINNATI — A Hamilton County jury is deliberating in the murder trial of a man who admits he fatally shot another man inside a Clifton Shake Shack in June 2025 but says he acted in self-defense.
Jurors began deliberating around 12:30 p.m. Friday after hearing closing arguments in the trial of Antwoine McCants. If jurors do not reach a verdict Friday, they could be dismissed for the weekend and return to continue deliberations.
McCants is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of felonious assault in the shooting death of Christopher Stallworth.
The case centers not on whether McCants fired the fatal shot, but on what he believed was happening in the moments before he pulled the trigger.
McCants took the stand on the final day of testimony, telling jurors he feared for his life as Stallworth followed him through the Shake Shack and eventually confronted him.
The encounter began with a dispute over parking outside the Calhoun Street restaurant. McCants testified that after he and his wife went inside, Stallworth and the woman he was with also entered the restaurant.
McCants said he became increasingly nervous when Stallworth began following him as he moved through the restaurant.
"Because he was getting closer and closer to me quick," McCants testified.
McCants' physical condition at the time of the shooting also became part of his defense.
McCants had already lost his left leg and was wearing a prosthetic. He had also lost the toes on his right foot and testified that he had difficulty walking and maintaining his balance.
During cross-examination, McCants described why he believed his limited mobility mattered as the confrontation escalated.
"I can't fight nobody. I can't barely move," McCants said.
McCants has since lost his other leg and used a wheelchair throughout the trial.
What McCants says happened before the shooting
McCants testified Stallworth eventually confronted him and accused him of pulling a gun on the woman Stallworth was with.
McCants denied doing so.
He testified that Stallworth then reached into his right pocket. McCants said he could see what he believed was the slide of a gun getting caught inside Stallworth's pocket as Stallworth tried to pull it out.
"That's when I cocked it and shot him," McCants testified.
McCants told jurors he believed both he and his wife were in danger.
"I was feeling like my life was in danger. I felt if I was to get shot, he was going to shoot my wife next," McCants testified.
There is no dispute that Stallworth had a gun. Prosecutors acknowledged during closing arguments that Stallworth had a sky-blue firearm that was later found outside near where he collapsed.
But where that gun was before the shooting — and, more importantly, whether McCants knew Stallworth was armed when he fired — became one of the central disputes at trial.
Prosecutors point to McCants' statements after shooting
Prosecutors challenged McCants' account by comparing his testimony with what he told investigators on the night of the shooting.
McCants told police that night that he did not see Stallworth with a gun and did not see a bulge indicating he had one, according to testimony and closing arguments.
Prosecutors argued the trial was the first time McCants specifically testified that he saw the imprint or slide of a firearm in Stallworth's pocket. They also noted McCants did not tell the 911 dispatcher that he saw Stallworth with a weapon.
During cross-examination, prosecutor Kip Guinan confronted McCants about the discrepancy.
"And you never told the police about seeing the slide of his gun that night," Guinan said. "In fact, you said, 'I didn't see a gun. I didn't see a bulge. I didn't know what he had.'"
McCants maintained that he demonstrated to investigators how he saw something getting caught in Stallworth's pocket, though he acknowledged he was not sure whether he specifically told investigators that he saw the slide of a firearm.
Prosecutors also repeatedly directed jurors to surveillance video from inside the restaurant.
They argued the video shows Stallworth approaching McCants with his hands already in his pockets. Prosecutors said McCants drew his firearm, attempted to fire, racked the gun and then shot Stallworth in the chest as Stallworth was backing away.
"Mr. McCants never saw a gun on Stallworth. He never saw him reach for anything, because his hands were already in his pocket," Guinan argued during the state's closing.
Guinan ended his argument by telling jurors, "That, ladies and gentlemen, is not self-defense. That is murder."
Defense says Stallworth posed an immediate threat
McCants' defense attorneys offered a sharply different interpretation of the same encounter.
The defense argued Stallworth returned to the restaurant to confront McCants, followed him through the building and was armed.
Defense attorney Lindsay Arway argued McCants did not draw his gun simply because Stallworth was following him. She said the threat became immediate when McCants believed Stallworth was pulling a weapon from his pocket.
"What he feared was that it was a gun and it was meant for him," Arway told jurors. "And guess what? He was right. There was a gun."
The defense also pointed to evidence surrounding Stallworth's gun after the shooting and argued the evidence supported McCants' testimony about where the weapon had been.
Arway told jurors prosecutors had not disproved self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.
"Based upon his use of self-defense, we are asking that you find the State has failed to meet their burden and find Mr. McCants not guilty on all counts," Arway said.
Jurors are now tasked with deciding whether prosecutors proved the charges against McCants beyond a reasonable doubt and disproved his claim of self-defense.
The jury remains in deliberations Friday.
