Judge sends murder suspect to trial
By Phil Ray, pray@altoonamirror.comHOLLIDAYSBURG - 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.
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lovingsister
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07-11-09 7:48 PM
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cuffo367 mabey you need to do some research on ptsd. anyone who has not had to deal w/ptsd should look it up do some homework befor you run and jump to make your discion. i hope that most will never need to know much about ptsd. you are the lucky ones. but for those who have had to deal w/ptsd god will be there to help us all. ptsd hurt us all not just the person w/ptsd but all who love them....
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cuff0367
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07-05-09 4:20 PM
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Lil that is why you cant see the light he is your close friend
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LilAmz
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07-01-09 7:28 PM
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Wow... That is all I can say. Those of you who have never seen what wars do to you. I am an Iraqi Vet.. I have seen alot of crazy things over there. I have read all your comments and to be honest I got confused when I read SSG Rightenour's comment. I am a SPC in the Army. I think you lack loyalty to your troops and your peers if you can not fathom PTSD. Unless you are a cherry or you are a fobbit. Nick and his family are close friends of mine. My oldest nephew lost his friend that day. Future reference there are 10 stages of PTSD. Learn that for your future troops! Stage 9 being SUCIDAL. Stage 10 being HOMOCIDAL. The Light keep up the good work. Be The Change.
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thelight
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07-01-09 12:50 AM
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So, many of you ask if he was suffering from "flashbacks" why whould he have robbed the place? Any veteran of this war will tell you..well maybe they won't, they know the truth in their hearts...it is "not" frowned upon when a soldier is on a mission to take whatever they wish to take. Anything, doesn't matter. There is no punishment, if they wish to take it they can. Trust me, Sgt Horner did not walk into the subway to rob them; he came in through the rear door and that is called a rear door entry. He should have never been discharged and Scott should have never been killed. Tragedys like this will continue unless something does not change. I am so grateful that there are others in this community that are able to look at all of the facts objectively. It will all come out, the truth always does.
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lovingsister
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06-30-09 9:46 PM
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thelight thank you for doing you homework before posting. i would only hope and pray that one day we will be safe from this kind of thing. but w/the people unwilling to edgucate themselfs. I fear that we will never get these men and women the help they need BEFORE anything like this happens again. I pray for all those who have been hurt by this.
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Knowsbetter
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06-30-09 9:24 PM
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Amen Mpen
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mpenlisted
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06-30-09 4:32 PM
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And the facts are he killed to people and hurt others.That is the facts.
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thelight
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06-30-09 1:32 PM
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Know the facts before posting. I knew Scott. It breaks my heart, I was at graduation it broke my heart again, everytime I look at my child's photograph from graduation I look down and see the red/white ribbon attached to his gown on the collar...the red/white ribbon was for Scott. It breaks my heart over and over again. We have to look at the facts not through minds and hearts clouded with emotion, we have to use the mind that God gave us to weigh all of the facts, period. As deveatating as this is, we owe it to our children who may very well end up in this war.
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thelight
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06-30-09 1:25 PM
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***********nytimes****/2008/01/13/us/13vets.html?hp Late one night in the summer of 2005, Matthew Sepi, a 20-year-old Iraq combat veteran, headed out to a 7-Eleven in the seedy Las Vegas neighborhood where he had settled after leaving the Army. This particular 7-Eleven sits in the shadow of the Stratosphere casino-hotel in a section of town called the Naked City. By day, the area, littered with malt liquor cans, looks depressed but not menacing. By night, it becomes, in the words of a local homicide detective, "like Falluja." Mr. Sepi did not like to venture outside too late. But, plagued by nightmares about an Iraqi civilian killed by his unit, he often needed alcohol to fall asleep. And so it was that night, when, seized by a gut feeling of lurking danger, he slid a trench coat over his slight frame -- and tucked an assault rifle inside it. How familiar does the above article sound? 121 Cases as of Jan 2008 of Iraqi Veterans WITH PTSD involved in homicide cases...
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Knowsbetter
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06-29-09 10:58 PM
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I agree mpen. Albeit we all will reach our own individual judgment day, the rest of society still needs to function and deserves to do so as safely as possible. This country has to stop excusing murderers. Horner is certainly not the first defendant to sit in court and shed a tear and he won't be the last. They're all crying they got caught.
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mpenlisted
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06-29-09 9:32 PM
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Thelight You need to come out of your bubble and see the light
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thelight
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06-29-09 12:02 PM
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Apparently you are not able to post a website? google helphorner and google ptsd salem news nicholas horner
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thelight
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06-29-09 11:59 AM
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I am not on here to argue with anyone, I am simply stating the "Facts". I have had to seperate myself from this emotionally because I knew Scott and he is with the Lord right now, no doubt. Twenty five people came to Christ at that young mans funeral. The facts still remain that Sgt. Nicholas Horner was a highly decorated soldier. Sgt. Nicholas Horner's awards and medals. Army Commendation Medal Army Good Conduct Medal Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Iraq Campaign Medal w/ Campaign Star Combat Action Badge Army Achievement Medal National Defense Service Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Army Service Ribbon Driver and Mechanic Badge w/ Driver Wheeled Vehicle If you can open your mind for just a moment I challenge to look at the following ****helphorner**** Maybe, just maybe you will step back and not be so quick to judge him, rather pray for him and pray that other soldiers don't fall through the cracks. Another website... ***********salem-news****/art
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Mandalay
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06-29-09 8:19 AM
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Thank-you "Thelight." Very well said.
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kilgore
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06-29-09 8:09 AM
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horner is a murderer..pure and simple Scott Garlick, Raymond Williams and their families are the real victims of this murderer God bless the families of the victims God bless the murderer's family God **** horner to*****
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righty27
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06-29-09 2:55 AM
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Blaming this heinous act on PTSD is a slap in the face to the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who also suffer from PTSD and do not committ acts of violence like this. I have no sympathy for this murderer. SSG Rightenour
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thelight
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06-29-09 12:21 AM
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continued from below....records from the VA to be gone through. You cannot tell me that a man who sits in a courtroom listening to the charges against him, sitting there with his head down, crying is a cold blood killer. No way, if that were the case his entire past would show the personality and actions of a sociopath and that is not who Nick Horner is. This is a very sick man who slipped through the cracks, a man with a wonderful wife and two beautiful children; before commenting on "bits and pieces" of the case, take some time to look at all of the facts. None of us know what triggered his PTSD in the bowling alley. None of us. He will be judged accordingly, his judgement in the court really is not important compared to the judgement that we ALL will face and I promise you, my God judges the heart, not the action. If you think for one moment that your prideful, hateful, self righteous, jugemental and arrogant heart to Nick is not going to judged, you better think again.
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thelight
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06-29-09 12:08 AM
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continued from below... You also know in the pit of the deepest part of your gut that something went wrong, that there was much more to this than a robbery and murder. You see him the following day on the news being placed into a police cruiser and you know beyond the shadow of a doubt by the look in his eyes that he is not well. That pulls and pulls at you, yet your son's classmate was violently killed by this man, and then to find out from your sister that she served her last tour in Iraq with him and she confirms his PTSD and tells of many different things that he experienced while in Iraq on his 3rd tour. To read the horrible things that this community wishes to do to this man PRIOR to his case even being heard. Nick has admitted his guilt, he did that publicly by the letter he sent to the Altoona Mirror. Whether this community wishes to believe it or not, the truth will come out and there are eight years of service records to be gone through in addition to eight years of medical
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thelight
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06-28-09 11:57 PM
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So many victims, first and foremost the Garlick and Williams families, secondly the Horner family and next the Hollidaysburg Area High School Graduation Class of 2009. Do you know that in place of Scott they covered his seat in white and placed a vase of 2 or 3 dozens red roses on his chair. Do you know that when they called his name, the silence was deafening...for a few moments and the class began to clap as well as the audience for what seemed to last for an hour. What about the parents of those classmates. the ones that sat at the hospital with their children...watching them as they sat in silence holding one another, crying and trying to make sense of what happened to their friend. Standing in line at the viewing...looking over your shoulder because you see the whole class there except for your son, once getting into the funeral home looking at that precious sweet young man and know in the pit of your stomach that that could be your son?
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Mandalay
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06-28-09 10:58 PM
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Who are you to cast stones? Noone, and certainly noone in this case. You guys are missing what I am saying. But sounds to me like you each want to prove something to one another. This is about this man going before the judge not who has worked with criminals. Tonight I will pray God has mercy on you all.
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Knowsbetter
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06-28-09 9:38 PM
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If Horner has any remorse, he'll plead guilty at his arraignment and take his punishment. But we all know that won't happen. Horner doesn't want to die or spend his life in jail. He thinks he should be excused because of PTSD. I hope whoever gets on this jury does not have a bleeding heart for a murderer.
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lambs1
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06-28-09 8:58 PM
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Cuff, I have worked the 'so called criminal system' you speak of for many years.
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lambs1
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06-28-09 8:55 PM
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Cuff, all I can say to you is, you have no clue about me...
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cuff0367
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06-28-09 8:45 PM
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Well first off i have been dealing with criminals longer then you probably been living.Second it is bleeding hearts like you that get picked for the jury and cant come up with the death penalty cause your trying to give a person a reason for murder.
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lambs1
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06-28-09 8:30 PM
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Now Cuff, if you continue to post rather unintelligent comments I will continue also... But please quit now and save face.
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