HOLLIDAYSBURG — An Altoona man accused in September 2020 of firing a shotgun at a woman as she drove away from their residence is on trial this week in Blair County Court, accused of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and related charges.

Christopher D. Riddle-Hatcher, 36, is challenging the charges Altoona police filed against him after investigating a “shots fired” report and finding Riddle-Hatcher with a shotgun in his hand and casings on the ground.

The woman, found that night at a nearby convenience store, has been uncooperative with police and is unlikely to testify, Assistant District Attorney Ian Hausner told jurors Monday in his opening.

He also said that before the trial concludes, he’ll provide enough testimony and evidence to overcome reasonable doubt and convict the defendant.

“A trial is a lot like a puzzle, and I cannot give you all the pieces,” he said. “But what I can provide you is enough pieces for you to know what was going on.”

Defense attorney Mark Zearfaus cautioned the jurors that they won’t hear enough evidence to convict his client.

“You won’t hear of any injuries,” Zearfaus said.

Riddle-Hatcher and the woman were in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, Zearfaus said, and from the beginning, she told police she didn’t want anything to do with this.

“She’s the biggest piece of the puzzle,” the defense attorney said.

Hausner called six witnesses to the stand on Monday including former Altoona police officer Timothy Campolong, who was five blocks away when dispatched to the 1500 block of Third Avenue to investigate the “shots fired” report and possible domestic dispute.

Campolong, whose testimony was supplemented by body camera video, admitted to pointing his revolver at Riddle-Hatcher and ordering him to drop his shotgun. Instead, (Riddle-Hatcher) reached inside the door of his residence and placed the gun there, Campolong said.

Campolong and Patrolman Noah Bollman, who assisted with detaining Riddle-Hatcher, said Riddle-Hatcher accused the woman of calling police.

“He was saying that she ratted him out,” Bollman said.

On the video, Riddle-Hatcher can be heard saying: “I don’t understand what I did. … Am I being arrested?”

Video also showed Bollman asking Riddle-Hatcher about the blood on his hands and Bollman responded: “I was punching something,” with later testimony indicating that it was a mirror.

Additional police officers who assisted at the scene and searched the residence described the apartment’s furnishings in disarray.

Riddle-Hatcher told police that he and the woman had been arguing and that she should be contacted to “clarify” what happened.

The criminal charges police filed against Riddle-Hatcher accuse him of firing the shotgun at the woman’s vehicle, halfway up the driver’s side door and just behind the door handle as she was attempting to drive off the property.

Police collected vehicle paint chips that were on the ground. The chips contained holes like ones found in the woman’s vehicle, he said. Police also found a shotgun shell and a loaded shell on the ground. Four additional shells were found inside the shotgun.

Officer Caleb Nixon also testified about a clump of hair that was collected from the apartment. When Hausner asked Nixon about the hair, Zearfaus raised an objection that left Nixon describing the hair as brown, the same color as the woman’s. Nixon later testified that a red string necklace was intertwined with the clump of hair.

Judge Timothy M. Sullivan, who is presiding over the trial scheduled to last through Thursday, is also expected to issue a ruling by early Wednesday, indicating if Hausner can present the jury with recorded statements that Riddle-Hatcher allegedly made to the woman within the past two weeks.

After dismissing the jury, Sullivan heard requests for the proposed testimony about recorded statements, including one in which Riddle-Hatcher is alleged to have said to the woman: “If they can prove I fired the shotgun, then I get fried.”

Zearfaus countered that such a statement is nothing more than a statement. “That’s not an admission,” Zearfaus told the judge.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.