Mike McKinney's photo in the Delta Chi composite told the storyperfectly.
Along with the requisite tuxedo, McKinney donned a "TOP GUN"baseball hat and a pair of aviator shades.
"He was the life of the party," fellow member Scott Clarksaid.
Clark said anyone who went out for a night with McKinney wasguaranteed to have an adventurous night.
McKinney's friends joked how he would always try to makeeveryone laugh.
One said he would try and pick up girls by telling them he wasvoted best smile in high school or say "see you in my dreams."
A group of Delta Chi members planned to watch the Notre Damegame on Saturday afternoon. Notre Dame was Mike McKinney's favoriteteam and he had the tattoo on his right arm to prove it.
But McKinney didn't see his favorite team win on Saturday.
McKinney was fatally shot early Saturday morning after policeresponded to a report of a burglary at 1325 North St. Friends whogathered Sunday recalled the events of the last night they spentwith McKinney.
"I lost a good friend," Ball State alumnus Ben Brooks said.
THE FINAL HOURS
The sequence of events of Mike McKinney's last night were likeany other college night, senior Rich Lentz said.
A group of Delta gathered Friday night at the home of seniorPhil Juskevice and senior Travis Scott, on 1427 W. North St.,located seven doors from where he was shot.
McKinney drove his truck to Juskevice's Friday night, Lentzsaid.
"Their house is the meeting point before we go out," Clarksaid.
Lentz said McKinney made it a point not to drive while he'd beendrinking.
Part of the group, including Clark, Juskevice and McKinney thenwent out to Stirling's Bar and Eatery at around 9:30 p.m. to 9:45p.m., Clark said.
After Stirling's the three were picked up by senior Phil Granand then taken to Village Pantry, Clark said.
Clark said Gran took them to Village Pantry where they stoppedat the ATM and bought cigarettes.
The group then went into BW-3's to find a friend, but after theycouldn't locate them, they went to the Locker Room, Clark said.Clark said it was about 12:30 a.m. at this point.
Clark said he left the Locker Room at about 2 a.m. withoutMcKinney.
Senior Mike Huber saw McKinny outside of BW-3's at about 2:30a.m. with friends junior Tim Hardesty and junior ScottLabrosse.
Huber said McKinney had fallen down outside the entrance ofBW-3's, but the fall wasn't hard enough to cause bleeding.
"We just took the iniative to help him," Huber said.
Huber said Hardesty and Labrosse served as a two-person crutchfor McKinney, who had been drinking that night.
The three knew a mutual friend of McKinney's, junior Pat Edger,and decided to take him to his home located in UniversityApartments.
"We weren't sure which one was his," Huber said. After severalunsuccessful attempts to locate Edger, Huber tried calling Edger onMcKinney's cell phone.
The calls were unsuccessful as well.
Huber said the last phone call made to Edger was around 2:50a.m. The phone was then returned to McKinney.
Huber said McKinney after several jokes and laughs, took offrunning down Dicks Street.
Huber said they all assumed he was running toward one of theDelta Chi brother's houses.
"We knew there were Dee-Chis that lived that way," Hubersaid.
Huber said Hardesty and he yelled at McKinney to stoprunning.
It would be the last time they saw him alive.
'WE'LL NEVER KNOW'
Senior Travis Scott said he planned on seeing McKinney laterthat night, after the two went their separate ways.
"I kind of laughed at him and told him I'd see him on the couchat our place," Scott said.
Instead of landing on Scott's couch, McKinney ended up in a backyard several houses away. Police reported that McKinney banged onthe back door of a home, spurring someone to call in a report of anattempted burglary. He was shot and killed in the back yard a shorttime later.
"In my opinion, he thought this house (the house where he wasshot) was mine," Juskevice said.
Lentz said there were similarities between the two homes whereMcKinney started the night and where it fatally ended.
"It was dark at night, it was a white house, it looked verysimilar to Phil's," Lentz said. "Maybe he took a different path andthought he was there. Unfortunately, we'll never know that."
Clark said it would be typical for McKinney to bang on a doorthinking that his friends had locked him out.
Juskevice said McKinney knew the front door was alwayslocked.
"He would always go around to the back door and bang on the door-- always," Juskevice said.
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