HOLLIDAYSBURG - A Pittsburgh defense attorney attempted Friday to portray Nicholas A. Horner as a man making "rambling" and "bizarre" statements the day two people were killed during and after a robbery at the Subway restaurant on 58th Street.
To the prosecution, however, Horner was not so much a man suffering from mental illness as he was a robber intent on stealing money to support his family.
Magisterial District Judge Steven D. Jackson ruled at Horner's preliminary hearing that there was enough evidence to send Horner, 28, to trial on two counts of murder, attempted murder, four counts of robbery, terroristic threats and attempt at theft and robbery.
More than 40 family members and friends of homicide victims Scott Garlick, 19, a senior at Hollidaysburg Area High School, and Raymond Williams, 64, a retired insurance executive, watched the three hours of testimony from eyewitnesses and police officers.
Several members of Horner's family, including his wife, Windy, were also present.
Also in the jammed courtroom were five sheriff's deputies and two constables who created a wall between the onlookers and Horner, who was dressed in a prison-orange jumpsuit draped with upper body armor for protection.
Horner kept his head bowed as if fixated on the desk in front of him. At one point, he dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief.
Horner did not speak to his attorney, who periodically walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
His only communication was with Pennsylvania Constable Brenda Lynch, who helped transport him to the courthouse. Lynch spoke to Horner occasionally and kept a close eye on him.
Defense attorney David S. Shrager said he will file a petition to have Horner moved from the county jail to a mental health facility, based on a recent undisclosed report prepared by Hollidaysburg psychiatrist Dr. Edwin Tan.
Blair County Deputy District Attorney Jackie Bernard said the prosecution will oppose that request.
Bernard and fellow Deputy District Attorney Wade Kagarise presented their case against Horner by eliciting testimony from three eyewitnesses, including Subway employee Michele Petty, who was shot in the left hip; Jordan Cogley, 16, a customer at Subway; and Chris Stadler, a mechanic at Sel-Lo Oil Co., who heard shots and saw Williams lying in a parking lot outside an apartment building three blocks from Subway.
Petty testified that Garlick, who had just reported to work at 5 p.m. April 6, was taking the garbage out behind the restaurant when he was shot.
She said after Horner shot her, she fell down and Horner told her, "Don't move or else."
When she raised her head to see what was happening, Horner said, "Girl, I thought I told you ... "
She testified that she then put her head down and Horner went to the front of the restaurant where he demanded money.
As he was leaving with $133, Petty said Horner stopped near Garlick and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to do this to you."
Cogley testified that he was at the front of Subway buying a sandwich when he witnessed Horner demanding money while pointing a gun at employee Cynthia Harker. He said Horner then left the shop with the money in a sandwich bag, crossed 58th Street and disappeared in a wooded area beside the Texas Hot Weiners Drive In.
Stadler testified he heard what he thought were firecrackers outside Sel-Lo on California Avenue. He said after he saw Horner with a gun and Williams' body on the ground, he went to his vehicle to call 911.
As he did, he said Horner came toward him quickly, stating, "You're [expletive] next."
Shrager questioned whether Horner was "seemingly unstable" and "rambling," but Stadler testified that he quickly left the area.
"I didn't want to take any chances," he testified.
Within minutes of the shootings, Altoona police officer David Tracy and Logan Township officer Rick Benzel were in pursuit of Horner. Each fired twice at Horner but missed. They apprehended him along with other officers after a struggle.
Tracy testified Horner said to them, "If it were your wife and kids, you would do the same thing." Then he said Horner told them, "You have the wrong guy. My friend just shot someone."
Shrager indicated these were "bizarre" statements having nothing to do with the Subway robbery, but Tracy said he assumed Horner meant he had stolen money for his wife and kids.
Kagarise concluded the statements were anything but bizarre.
"After he attempted to justify [the robbery], then he tried to deny it," he said.
Shrager twice tried to appeal to the families and friends of the victims. First, he stated he wanted to say something to them "on behalf of my client." The second time, he addressed them saying, "As the father of a son who is about to go to Iraq ... "
Bernard objected both times.
"Why don't you sit down," an onlooker said to Shrager.
According to autopsy reports presented to Jackson, Garlick died from a shot to the left carotid artery while Williams died from multiple gunshots to the head, neck and chest.
Between Friday and July 31, when Horner is arraigned in the Court of Common Pleas, Kagarise and Bernard said prosecutors will make a decision whether to seek the death penalty.
Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.
