UPDATE: James Eugene Lantz will head to trial in the Court of Common Pleas for criminal homicide.
During the preliminary hearing, Indiana County District Attorney Patrick Dougherty brought State Trooper Jeremy Leasure to the stand. He was a part of the Criminal Investigative Unit during the time of the investigation, and presented some evidence as part of the investigation, including text messages that were sent by Lantz that implicated himself in the killing. Lantz’s attornies, Robert Bell and Annmarie Everett, did not offer any evidence of their own, and District Judge Guy Haberl decided that there was enough evidence to proceed to trial.
No word yet on when that trial will take place.
WHAT WE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED
Several preliminary hearings are set for today in Indiana County’s Magesterial District Courts, including a hearing today for a Commodore man accused of shooting and killing his neighbor during an incident in June.
27-year-old James Eugene Lantz is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing this afternoon on a single charge of criminal homicide. The charge is connected with an incident in the late evening of June 16th and early morning of June 17th when Lantz was involved in an argument with 23-year-old Derrick Michael Davis at a home along Love Joy road. State police say in an affidavit of probable cause that during a verbal argument between the two, Lantz retrieved a sawed-off shotgun from a backpack he was carrying and shot Davis in the chest. Lantz told police that he had intended to fire the gun into the air or at Davis’ feet, but when Davis approached him, he panicked.
This is the third attempt at a preliminary hearing for Lantz, as two prior preliminary hearings were continued. The hearing is set for 1:15 PM today in front of District Judge Guy Haberl.
Also having a preliminary hearing today is:
- 21-year-old Tyler Pandullo of Indiana. He is facing a charge of possession of a small amount of marijuana in connection with an incident on July 1st. Those charges came from Indiana Borough Police.
- 25-year-old Ashley Hartzell, who is facing manufacture or possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver, possession of a controlled substance and of drug paraphernalia connected with a drug arrest on July 3rd. Hartzell was caught by Indiana Borough Police in the 200 block of South 3rd Street, and police say she had 44 stamp bags of heroin and about 2.5 grams of raw heroin. Hartzell is also facing charges in a separate case in Armstrong County.
