MIDDLEBURG -- A 27-year-old Richfield man could spend at least 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder in Snyder County Court with the March 22 shooting death of his girlfriend's stepfather.
Travis D. Graham, of RR2 Richfield, entered the plea Wednesday afternoon in the killing of Jeffrey Stock, 46, who was shot to death while smoking a cigarette on the porch of his Seven Stars Road home in West Perry Township.
He pleaded guilty to third degree murder in the shooting death.
The plea hearing was held at the request of Graham's attorney, George H. Matangos, of Lemoyne.
Snyder County District Attorney Michael Sholley had announced his intention to seek the death .
Graham has been held without bail in Snyder County Prison since his March 31 arrest on an open count of homicide.
In an interview with The Daily Item last spring, Graham's girlfriend, Jessica R. Lehman, said Stock and Graham had a bad relationship and that her boyfriend feared her allegedly abusive stepfather.
According to preliminary hearing testimony from state police trooper Rob Reeves, Graham confessed to the shooting, but said he was only trying to only scare Stock when he aimed a high-powered rifle at the older man's stomach as he smoked a cigarette on the porch of his home.
The shooting happened at 10:30 p.m. and Graham allegedly fired the weapon from a distance of about 150 yards, police said.
Standing a few feet away inside the home was Stock's longtime girlfriend, Brenda Soder. She was unharmed.
News
Related Photos
-
File photo
Discussion
Richfield man pleads guilty to killing
- News
-
-
Storms pound region
A series of thunderstorms prompted flash-flood warnings across the Susquehanna Valley Sunday night.
-
Drizzle doesn't stop Mazeppa parade, service
MAZEPPA — Small-town American spirit was on display in Mazeppa at the community’s annual Memorial Day parade on Sunday.
-
Lions raffling premium tickets
Two lucky people will win Philadelphia Phillies Diamond Club seats for a September game.
-
Dial 211 matches callers, agencies
SELINSGROVE — The Union-Snyder Community Action Agency is preparing to launch Dial 211 in July, but if you call it now, it works.
-
Pastor: Some twist Scriptures for own ends
During the 2012 United Methodist Church General Conference held in Tampa, Fla., earlier this month, church leaders chose to maintain the wording in their Book of Discipline, voting down motions that would have approved same-sex marriages and the ordination of homosexual ministers.
-
Burgers, people sizzle
SUNBURY -- Under clear skies Saturday, the temperature felt like 100 degrees, more like the Fourth of July than the Memorial Day weekend, according to a meteorologist who said the sticky, stifling conditions will persist for several days.
-
It pays to monitor accounts
Several people responded to the scam alert story which appeared last Sunday in The Daily Item to say they too have been recent victims of scams involving the theft of their identities and bank card information.
-
Teens go for baroque
A sonata plays from a Mac book in the music room at Lewisburg Area High School. It’s a baroque-style composition with flavors of Beethoven’s First symphony. Senior Sean Swartz, 18, hums along and does a little conducting with a pen as the music plays.
-
'To Do': Concert
WEST MILTON - Buffalo Valley Singers presents a concert at 7:30 p.m. May 27 at Central Oak Heights, 75 Heritage Road.
-
Firefighter union may char pacts
LEWISBURG — Paid members of the William Cameron Engine Company have voted to unionize under the International Association of Fire Fighters, a move believed to stem from internal tension between paid and volunteer members of the department, according to various sources.
-
M-W rule on drug testing is area’s boldest
MIDDLEBURG — Midd-West is the only school district in the Central Susquehanna Valley that requires students interested in participating in extra-curricular activities to agree to submit to random drug testing.
-
New shelter exec gets busy
When Cathy Teisher stepped down as executive director of Haven Ministries, in March, Pamela Steffen stepped up.
- More News Headlines
-
Storms pound region
