While waiting to sign paperwork after his arraignment on homicide and related charges for the killing of David Alan Hoover, 33-year-old John Patrick Stiver II downplayed the evidence against him as he read down the list of charges.

“Without circumstantial evidence, you would have no case,” Stiver said, aiming his comments at the two Altoona police detectives — Sgt. Marshall Worling and Cpl. Terry Merritts — who escorted him to his arraignment at Magisterial District Judge Daniel DeAntonio’s Fourth Street office Friday night.

“We’re not going to discuss the case with you here,” Merritts told Stiver. “You’ve been arraigned.”

Between physical evidence and witness statements — and even the words of the accused himself — Altoona police had gathered myriad evidence in the 24-hours following Hoover’s shooting death about 5:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon, according to the charges filed against Stiver.

Stiver allegedly told a friend Thursday night he had retrieved a shotgun from his father’s house along Homers Gap Road before the deadly encounter with Hoover in the parking lot of Bethany Lutheran Church off Second Street between Third and Fourth avenues.

In response to the shooting, Bethany Lutheran Church is hosting a candlelight prayer vigil in the church parking lot at 6 p.m. today for community members affected by the incident.

The friend also told police Stiver admitted to him that he had shot Hoover, although Stiver told his friend that two guys had come after him with guns.

In Stiver’s statement to police, in which he allegedly confessed to the shooting, he told investigators he took the shotgun he used to shoot Hoover back to his father’s house.

Officers recovered several guns from the house of Stiver’s father on Friday.

“We believe we recovered the murder weapon,” Altoona police Sgt. Matthew Plummer confirmed Saturday.

Stiver was allegedly driving Ed Clemens around Altoona on Thursday when Hoover gave Clemens $250 to buy cocaine about 2 p.m. When Clemens failed to deliver the cocaine, Hoover had a friend drive him around to look for Clemens and Stiver.

Witnesses at the scene gave police the license plate number of Stiver’s Ford Fusion as the car that sped away after the shooting and the car Hoover was in had a dash camera that was confiscated by police as evidence, police noted in the charges. Police have not indicated what was found on the dash camera.

A check of Hoover’s cellphone by police showed 25 communications between Clemens and Hoover, although police did not note the time frame of the contact between the men.

Clemens, who was jailed Friday on a probation violation but has not yet been charged with any crimes associated with the shooting or the alleged drug deal, invoked his Fifth Amendment right after he was read his Miranda warning by police on Friday, but not before he fingered Stiver as the killer.

“If this is about last night, John shot that guy,” Clemens allegedly said as an Altoona detective drove him to the police department for questioning.

Clemens also said during the car ride he was near the parking lot when the shooting occurred.

Mirror Staff Writer Greg Bock is at 946-7458.