A 78-year-old Clarkston man was ordered to spend 280 months in prison for killing his next-door neighbor during a heated confrontation that started over loud music.
David E. Boyd learned his sentence on June 12, 2026, immediately after pleading guilty to second-degree murder with a firearm enhancement and first-degree unlawful possession of a gun.
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| David Boyd’s mugshot |
The shooting happened on the night of January 28, 2025, at an apartment complex on the 1200 block of Ash Street, as per East Idaho News.
On that evening, according to court documents, 53-year-old Chad VanScotter placed a speaker directly against the wall the two apartments shared and played a Mister Rogers song at high volume.
Boyd said that he usually went to bed early, and the blaring music caused him to snap, so he grabbed a loaded .38-caliber revolver and went next door to confront his neighbor.
When Boyd arrived, VanScotter reportedly swung a walking stick at his head, an then Boyd responded with the firearm.
According to police reports, Boyd shot VanScotter twice in the chest and once between the eyes.
After the shooting, Boyd returned to his own apartment and dialed 911. When responding officers arrived, he told them he had planned to shoot himself to avoid going to prison but could not bring himself to do it.
When officers searched his home, they found two handwritten notes. One read, “This (expletive) has pushed me past my limit I’m going to kill him and then myself I can’t take anymore.”
The other note functioned as a suicide letter, laying out how to access his bank accounts and manage his personal property.
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| David Boyd’s arrest |
During his police interviews, Boyd admitted that VanScotter was already moving away from him when the first shot was fired.
Boyd, who was 77 at the time, also told Clarkston police that he had felt bullied for months by Chad VanScotter and that he just couldn't take it anymore that day.
Boyd was originally charged with first-degree murder, but on June 12, 2026, he entered a guilty plea to the reduced count of second-degree murder as part of an agreement with the Asotin County Prosecutor’s Office.
After his plea, Judge Brooke Burns handed down the 280-month sentence that same day, which amounts to more than 23 years in prison.
Because Boyd had a previous conviction for aggravated assault in 2013, he was prohibited from possessing firearms.
That prior record, combined with the violent nature of the crime, led to him being held without bond from the time of his arrest.
The unlawful possession charge was filed alongside the murder count, and both were resolved at his sentencing, as per East Idaho News.
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