HOLLIDAYSBURG - "I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to do that to you."
Nicholas A. Horner made the statement to Scott Garlick after he shot the 19-year-old during an April 6, 2009, robbery at the 58th Street Subway, witness Michele Petty said Tuesday in Horner's double-homicide trial.
Garlick of Hollidaysburg died in the robbery, and Raymond Williams, 64, was killed in the parking lot of his apartment complex during Horner's getaway, authorities said. Horner also shot Petty during the robbery.
The prosecution is seeking the death penalty for Horner.
The defense claims Horner, an Army veteran, had diminished mental capacity that day, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from three tours in Iraq and other mental health problems, as well as drug and alcohol abuse.
Petty, who is back to work after more than two years of rehabilitation, testified Tuesday how Horner entered the rear of the business, shooting Garlick in the neck then turning the gun on her.
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She told of seeing "flashes" and then finding herself on the floor, still not realizing she had been shot in the left hip area.
Horner told her, "Don't move, or else."
He went to the front of the store where he confronted Subway worker Cynthia Harker, asking her for money.
Horner then spoke to Garlick and left. According to witnesses, Horner made his way through the tree line along Mill Run, going west from the Subway toward the Ellenberger Apartments and the Miracle League Field.
He passed a house on the 5800 block of Maryland Avenue and came upon Williams, who had recently retired and was living with his wife, Christina. Williams was in the apartment parking lot.
Christina Williams testified Tuesday it was just after 5 p.m. as she was making pizza when she asked her husband if he had gotten the mail.
He hadn't, and Williams grabbed his keys and went outside to the mailbox in the parking lot.
A neighbor contacted her and said there had been shots in the area. She suggested Christina Williams come to her apartment.
When Williams and her friend looked out the window of the apartment, the neighbor said, "Tina. There's someone down out there."
When she looked, she was startled, and said, "Oh my God, that's my Ray."
Raymond Williams had been shot several times.
About the same time, another neighbor in the apartment complex, Matthew T. McNaul, noticed a man fitting Horner's description going from car to car trying to use the keys he had taken from Williams.
By this point, police were closing in. McNaul said he became concerned when Horner entered McNaul's blue Cavalier.
Police found the gun used to kill Garlick and Williams and wound Petty in McNaul's vehicle.
Christopher Stadler, an truck mechanic at Sel-Lo Oil Co., which bordered on the parking lot, also noticed Horner attempting to break into cars and put two-and-two together when he spotted Williams' body in the parking lot.
Stadler got in his Jeep to call 911. Horner saw him and approached him saying, "You're [expletive] next," Stadler testified.
Stadler retreated behind a nearby tanker truck. Horner fled without harming Stadler.
Altoona Cpl. Scott Douglas, Patrolmen David Tracy and Mark Martino, and Logan Township Patrolman Richard Benzel were in pursuit of Horner.
Martino, in his cruiser, quickly caught up to Horner, who tripped while he was running away. Tracy, on foot, also caught up to the struggling Horner.
"What if it was your wife and kids? You would do the same thing," Horner told the officers after being handcuffed.
Tracy testified that Horner then stated, "My friend just shot someone." Horner wouldn't reveal the friend's name.
During the first two days of testimony, Blair County Deputy District Attorneys Jackie Bernard and Wade Kagarise presented witnesses who had seen or conversed with Horner after he left his wife at Walmart.
He had gone to the Holiday Bowl where he spent the afternoon drinking beer and eating pizza, and he had gone to Subway, where the robbery occurred.
The trial continues today in Blair County Court.
Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.
