A man who served in law enforcement in South Carolina for nearly 15 years pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing his next door neighbor in 2023 and was sentenced to 34 years in prison.
Justin Rawlins Moody, 43, was to go on trial next week for the May 11, 2023, shooting death of 48-year-old Oscar Rubio.
Eight Circuit Solicitor David Sumbo’s Office said Moody “threw himself upon the mercy of the Court,” WYFF reported.
Rubio’s girlfriend found him dead from multiple gunshot in the living room of his home in Ware Shoals. Responding deputies found significant amounts of blood on the front porch and in the front yard and said it appeared that someone had dragged his body into the house after shooting him.
Witnesses told investigators that Rubio had some kind of issue with Moody, his neighbor, possibly over having loaned Moody money. When deputies went to Moody’s house, however, they couldn’t get him to answer the door until a deputy who knew him called out to him. Then he said he’d been sleeping, but deputies noted in their reports that he didn’t appear to have been sleeping, as all the lights were on in the house.
Deputies also found a pair of pants over a chair with blood spatter and a funeral pamplet on the the kitchen table with “RIP Oscar” and “you should love your neighbor” written on it.
Investigators said Moody denied involvement in his neighbor’s death but knew an “extraordinary” amount about the crime scene. As they continued to question him, Moody told them he was God and could hear the thoughts of other people.
A further search of the house found the gun used in the shooting in a bedroom of Moody’s home and boots that matched a footprint in Rubio’s home. Deputies also found items that belonged to Rubio in Moody’s home, including several thousand dollars in cash and the keys to the victim’s vehicle in a duffel bag.
Moody had worked in law enforcement from 2005 until 2018 at six different agencies in South Carolina, including the Richland County and Greenville County Sheriff’s Offices.
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[Featured image: Justin Rawlins Moody/Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office]
