Murder charges against Lexington County father, son will hinge on self defense
A fatal confrontation between neighbors in a rural Lexington County farming community has raised questions about the limits of the right to self-defense in one of the fastest growing and most conservative counties in South Carolina.
On Dec. 7, Ryan Lindler Sr., 52, and his son, Ryan Lindler Jr., 26, were arrested and charged with shooting and killing their neighbor, Kevin Newhouse the previous day. Both Lindlers have been charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
Warrants and an incident report released by the Lexington Sheriff’s Department state that on Dec. 6, Lindler Jr. shot and killed Newhouse, 36, during a confrontation following an incident where Newhouse trespassed on the Lindlers’ property armed with a machete.
But the shooting took place on Newhouse’s property at 256 Seleta Circle when Newhouse was unarmed, according to warrants.
“That’s what changed the whole situation,” said 11th Circuit Solicitor Rick Hubbard. “It was on Mr. Newhouse’s property and the information we presented is that when he was killed, he was not armed.”
Despite this, the Lindlers’ attorneys, Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter, have argued that the facts will vindicate the Lindlers.
“We believe there is a very substantial self defense claim here,” Bland told The State.
To judge by the comments on the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department’s Facebook page, the killing and the arrests have struck a chord in Lexington County. A post announcing the Lindlers’ arrest has gained 600 comments, with a mix of opinions about the killing and the arrests. While some commentators accused the sheriff’s department of not having the full story, others say they are glad for the arrests. But many simply expressed shock and confusion over the tragedy.
“Truly sad. This can not possibly be right. The Lindler’s (sic) are great people and an asset to our neighborhood and community. Praying for all involved,” one Facebook user posted.
“This is horrible and definitely doesn’t seem right at all Kevin Newhouse was one of the nicest and kindest person I have ever meet (sic),” wrote another.
A fatal confrontation
The Lindlers, who grow hay and sell meat to their neighbors, are longtime Lexington County residents. They are “part of the soil of Lexington County; they’re born and bred there and they’ve lived there their entire lives,” said Bland, who has gained prominence for representing some victims of Alex Murdaugh’s financial crimes.
By most accounts, the Lindlers are known to be hard working, and they had no prior criminal record, Hubbard said.
Similarly, Newhouse’s criminal record only shows a charge of failure to stop for blue lights on Nov. 15. Authorities declined to prosecute the case, which was a first offense, according to court records.
But on the afternoon of Dec. 6, surveillance footage showed Newhouse with a pit bull, wearing a mask and carrying a machete, Bland said.
“It’s very unnerving for people. You don’t you carry a machete to cut shrubs,” Bland said.
The shooting took place in a mostly rural, wooded corner of the county between I-20 and Calk’s Ferry Road. Ten miles away from the closest town of Pelion, the neighborhood with its farms, single story houses and dirt roads seems world away from rapidly growing suburban centers like Lexington or West Columbia.
An incident report, comprised primarily of Lindler Jr.’s statements to sheriff’s deputies, describes how the Lindlers confronted Newhouse on his property after they saw surveillance footage of him trespassing.
Over the past year, Bland said, surveillance footage from neighbors showed that Newhouse had trespassed on other people’s property at all hours of the day and night.
“This is not the first time he’s been on the (Lindlers’) property,” Bland said. “It’s a posted property meaning that there is no trespassing.”
Around 4 p.m. on Dec. 6, approximately 15 minutes after Newhouse had been on the Lindlers’ property, the father and son confronted Newhouse outside of his residence, roughly 1.5 miles from their farm.
Newman “didn’t say much,” Linlder Jr. told deputies. But warrants say that Lindler Sr. prevented Newhouse from entering his home. A physical altercation soon broke out, and Newhouse “grabbed a machete and started to swing at them,” Lindler Jr. told deputies.
Both Lindlers were hit by the machete, Lindler Jr. said. The report did not indicate that either of the two had suffered injuries. At some point during the struggle, Lindler Sr. got possession of the machete, leaving Newhouse unarmed. The older Lindler then told his son to shoot Newhouse, according to warrants.
Lindler Jr. then shot Newhouse three to four times with a Glock semi-automatic handgun, killing Newhouse, according to warrants.
Deputies, using a search warrant, recovered the machete and the gun from the Lindlers’ truck.
Following a 911 call reporting a fight and a man shot in the head, first responders, including the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, arrived at the scene shortly after Newhouse was shot.
While two deputies performed life-saving maneuvers on Newhouse, a deputy spoke to Lindler Jr., who admitted shooting Newhouse. Lindler Jr. said that he also called 911 but left the scene after people “started to come out of the woods” following the shooting.
Information in the warrants were drawn from the Lindlers’ statements and other eyewitnesses, as well as evidence at the scene. The incident report said three “females” were at the scene when deputies arrived, but provided no more information about them.
Bond set for defendants
At a bond hearing Friday, with the courtroom filled nearly to capacity with community residents, Circuit Court Judge Walton J. McLeod IV set a $150,000 bond for both Lindlers.
They will be required to put up 10%, or $15,000, in cash and submit to electronic monitoring. While they will be allowed to leave home for work under certain conditions, the court also imposed a restraining order against the father and son to prevent them from approaching Newhouse’s property or his family.
The Lindlers are “not a threat to the community and they’re not a flight risk. This is a one-off type of situation, this is not a drug crime, this is not gang related, it’s not a family feud,” Bland said.
Hubbard told The State that prosecutors had expected the Lindlers to be granted bond and had prepared the Newhouse family for that possibility. The solicitor said that he had received approximately 350 to 400 emails in support of the Lindlers.
In a statement, Bland wrote that he was grateful to the court for setting a bond that would allow the “Lindlers to participate in the defense of their cases while hopefully giving the Newhouse family some sense of security.”
“To be clear, no one is high-fiving here,” Bland wrote. “Lives have been shattered.”
