MIDDLEBURG -- Travis D. Graham told police he feared Jeffrey E. Stock and was trying to scare him when he fired a single fatal shot at Stock's midsection on March 22, a state trooper said Thursday at a preliminary hearing.
Homicide and aggravated assault charges against Graham, 26, of RR2 Richfield, were transferred to Snyder County Court following the hearing before District Judge Willis Savidge.
Trooper Rob Reeves testified that on March 31 Graham confessed to the killing, but claimed he wanted to shoot at Stock, 46, to scare him because he feared the older man.
Graham told police he left his house at about 10 p.m. March 22, drove to Potato Valley Road and parked his vehicle in a spot that overlooked Stock's home on the parallel Seven Stars Road in West Perry Township, Snyder County.
He aimed the rifle out the window toward Stock's back porch and waited for about 10 seconds until he saw the "cherry" on the end of a cigarette, indicating someone was smoking, Reeves said.
In his confession, Graham said he "aimed three feet below the cigarette" and made hand motions at his waist, Reeves testified.
"He heard a thud and drove away without seeing if the victim had fallen," the trooper said.
Graham's confession was consistent with the facts of the slaying, District Attorney Michael Sholley said.
Earlier in the hearing, Mifflin County Coroner David P. Lynch testified Stock was killed by a single gunshot wound to the lower abdomen.
Reeves said Stock was standing outside on his porch smoking a cigarette at about 10:30 p.m. when he was shot.
His longtime companion, Brenda Soder, was inside the house, about 8 to 10 feet away from Stock at the time.
Reeves said Graham fired the fatal shot from 180 yards away and later melted the rifle with a torch in his barn.
Police obtained a search warrant and recovered the scope and melted metal from the rifle where Graham said they would find it, he said.
Although Graham said it wasn't his intention to kill, Reeves said he admitted aiming at the victim's waist and firing.
Defense attorney George Matangos, of Lemoyne, questioned Reeves about the confession and why Graham wanted to scare Stock.
Reeves said the men "had fought in the past" and Graham said he was "angry and fearful that Mr. Stock would harm him."
While the pair had reportedly been in two physical altercations a year ago, they had had no contact for about a year, Reeves said.
He said Soder and Graham's girlfriend, Jessica R. Lehman, Stock's stepdaughter, confirmed the two prior fights.
According to the criminal complaint, Graham had fought with his girlfriend just prior to the shooting. There was no testimony about that fight Thursday.
Graham also told police that he'd had three to four beers the day of the shooting.
Reeves said Graham gave a one-page handwritten confession and a taped statement on March 31 following a 65-minute interview with investigators at the state police station in Selinsgrove.
About 12 family members and supporters of Graham packed Savidge's courtroom, but declined to talk publicly.
A shackled Graham, who is being held without bail in Snyder County Prison, greeted a few of them with smiles, but said nothing throughout the hearing.
Police said he has a conviction for corruption of minors in 2001.
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Trooper: Shooter confessed
Graham told police he wanted to scare, not kill, Jeffrey Stock
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