Jury selection in the criminal homicide trial of James Lantz is scheduled for June 25th. Yesterday, Indiana County President Judge William Martin issued rulings on two defense motions having to do with photographic evidence taken at the crime scene.
Defense attorney Robert Bell is asking the court to exclude six photographs from being introduced as evidence in the trial. Judge Martin ruled yesterday that he will remove the photos in question and make them a part of the record at a hearing to be held on June 12th. Immediately after that hearing, the judge will hold a second pretrial conference with the attorneys from both sides.
Lantz turns 28 years old today. He does not dispute that he shot and killed his neighbor, Derrick Davis, last June in front of the Davis home on Lovejoy Road in Green Township. As he and Davis argued in a dispute involving Davis’ girlfriend, Lantz pulled out a sawed-off shotgun from his backpack and fired a single shot, which struck Davis in the chest. He told police he meant to shoot into the ground or the air, but panicked when Davis started approaching him.
Lantz is charged with a single count of criminal homicide.
