Rodney ‘Cockeye’ Stepp Wiki – Rodney ‘Cockeye’ Stepp Biography
In the early morning of December 6, 2017, Rodney “Cockeye” Stepp was shot and killed in the driveway of his home in Martin County, Kentucky. His friend Elwood “Woody” Six was arrested at the scene and charged with second-degree manslaughter, a charge that was later upgraded to first-degree manslaughter, WYMT reported at the time. Six have pleaded not guilty and said the shooting was an act of self-defense.
The case is being explored in “Accused: Guilty or Innocent?” From A&E that documents the cases from the defendant’s perspective, including his defense, his trial, and how his family is handling the process. The premiere episode of the second season, titled “Best Friend Murder or Self Defense?” follows Six after being charged with the shooting death of his friend.
Rodney ‘Cockeye’ Stepp Age
Rodney “Cockeye” Stepp‘s age is unknown.
Stepp was shot and killed in his driveway by six
The court heard that on December 5, 2017, Six agreed to take Stepp on an afternoon Christmas shopping because his friend had been drinking and couldn’t drive alone, Bradley shared with Heavy. Six, 66 at the time, was more than just a friend to Stepp, 46; he was also the first cousin of Stepp’s father, who had passed away in recent years.
The two spent the afternoon and evening running errands and after several stops, they returned to Stepp’s house just before 3 a.m. on December 6. According to Bradley, the evidence showed that the two had been arguing on and off throughout the day as Six was trying to get Stepp to stop drinking while Stepp was mad at him for scolding him.
Tension continued to mount between the two and Stepp was aggressive and threatening toward Six as he got into his truck to drive off, Bradley told the court during Six’s trial. The situation escalated and Six shot Stepp once. The prosecution argued during the trial that the angle of the shooting and the entry of the bullet meant that Six was probably still in his truck during the shooting, Bradley explained.
He also told Heavy that the defense position was that his client knew his friend was armed and Stepp searched his pocket, prompting Six to shoot him in self-defense. On the 911 call, Six could be heard saying that Stepp had him by the neck and that he would not let him go and that he was afraid that Stepp would kill him, Bradley shared.
After hearing arguments from the prosecution and defense, the jury found Six not guilty of manslaughter but convicted him of reckless manslaughter. Under Kentucky law, that charge means “recklessly caused [d] the death of another person.”
Read Also: Who is Xan Korman? Wiki, Biography, Age, Family, Mother, Killed in Shooting, Investigation
A police officer detained the couple
During Heavy’s interview with Bradley, he revealed that there was an interesting exchange between Stepp and a police officer the night of the fatal shooting. Stepp recorded a video of “Cockeye Live” on Facebook from Walmart while Six waited in the vehicle and, after leaving the store, an employee called the police.
Bradley said the Walmart employee reported that Stepp was “very drunk” and that they were not sure if he was driving, so they gave authorities a description of his vehicle. Three minutes later, a police officer saw the vehicle and crossed the double line on the highway, so he decided to stop them and see if the “very drunk” man from Walmart was driving.
Bradley told Heavy that Six, who was behind the wheel, had been telling Stepp to stop drinking and Stepp got angry and agitated, so Six decided to plug in his phone and play gospel music. She said that she crossed the double line while she was looking for the cable to connect her phone to the stereo system.
According to Bradley, the police officer wrote in his incident report after the traffic stop that Stepp was belligerent, angry, and cursed at the situation. Since Six was the one driving and he was completely sober, the police officer simply issued a citation for crossing the double line and failing to present proof of insurance for the vehicle, which belonged to Stepp and his wife.
That evidence showed that Stepp had the ability to get angry while he was drinking, even though the prosecution called Six’s neighbor to testify that Six, not Stepp, had a reputation in the community for being violent. This testimony really affected Six’s wife, Joann, Bradley told Heavy, but he said he hopes the show will help people see Six in a more compassionate and understanding way.