Campbell

The attorney representing a Huntingdon County man serving a prison sentence of 17 to 40 years for voluntary manslaughter and two counts of aggravated assault in the shooting death of a neighbor said Monday he will seek review of the case by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Thomas M. Dickey of Altoona said he is working on the appeal for Cole James Campbell, 33, who was initially charged with first-degree murder in the death of a Clay Township neighbor, Timothy E. Skipper Jr., of Spring Hill Drive.

The jury, which heard the case in October 2023, found Campbell not guilty of murder but guilty of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault inflicting serious bodily injury and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Huntingdon County Judge George N. Zanic sentenced Campbell seven to 20 years on the two aggravated assault charges (which merged for sentencing purposes), and a consecutive sentence of 10 to 20 years on the manslaughter offense.

Campbell contended that he shot Skipper three times — in a leg, arm and chest — in self-defense as the two struggled with each other in the kitchen of the Campbell home.

Skipper had come to the Campbell home to complain about Campbell’s persistent speeding along Spring Hill Drive, described as a “dead-end dirt road” that served the neighborhood where both lived.

The road had been an issue among the neighbors because it was narrow and needed a great deal of maintenance.

On the evening of April 2, 2022, Skipper and his wife were unloading groceries when Campbell drove past their home.

According to an opinion issued last week by the Pennsylvania Superior Court, Skipper became upset because Campbell was speeding.

The Superior Court reported “this was an ongoing issue that the Skippers had tried to address with him, particularly in light of the amount of time their boys spent outside playing.”

Campbell, within a short period of time, again sped by the Skipper home.

Skipper indicated to his wife that he intended to go to Campbell’s home and inform him that he intended to install speed bumps in the road.

“He got into his pickup truck and headed up Spring Hill Drive. It was the last time Mrs. Skipper saw her husband alive,” the Superior Court summation stated.

The defense appealed the verdicts to the Superior Court, and in last week’s opinion, the panel hearing the case stated, “We conclude that (Mr. Campbell) is not entitled to relief in this case.”

The Superior Court judges hearing the appeal (Mary Jane Bowes, Judith F. Olson and Megan Sullivan), in an unusual move, adopted the 77-page opinion by Zanic as its own.

Much of the confrontation that occurred between Skipper and Campbell was on video from a doorbell camera and a camera in the kitchen of the Campbell home.

In his opinion, Zanic reviewed in detail the history of the ongoing dispute about the road and its unkempt condition.

The judge reviewed testimony of the many witnesses who were called to the stand.

And he recounted second by second what the videos depicted.

Campbell, the videos showed, before opening his door to Skipper, left his kitchen and returned with an AR-15-style rifle in his hand.

He laid the rifle on top of a box.

Campbell then opened his door and the ongoing video showed both men gesturing toward Spring Hill Drive.

The video also showed Campbell picking up his rifle and he “levels it at Skipper,” according to the narrative by Zanic.

Skipper grabbed the barrel of the rifle pushing it downward and to the right.

He shoved Campbell backward.

“Both men have their upper body angled toward each other, and their legs angled behind them, driving against the other,” the video showed, according to the judge.

The first shot was fired a minute after the scuffle began.

It struck the lower left leg of the victim, who fell to his knees.

Skipper let go of Campbell, who then stepped back, pointing the rifle toward the victim’s chest.

Campbell then fired two more shots in “quick succession.”

After the third shot, the victim attempted to leave the house.

The judge’s opinion indicated, “only 24 seconds passed from the time (Campbell) opened the door and began arguing with (Skipper) until the time he reached for the rifle.”

Campbell in his trial testimony explained he was concerned that Skipper had a gun in his pocket and that he had fear for his life when Skipper grabbed the barrel of his rifle.

After reviewing the facts of the case, Zanic, however, concluded that Campbell’s fears that Skipper possessed a gun and that “deadly force'” was justified and necessary was itself unreasonable.

He pointed out that the jury was not required to believe Campbell’s self-defense claim.

The defense also contended the sentence of 17 to 40 years was “manifestly excessive.”

Zanic disagreed.

He pointed to the dramatic effect the killing had on the Skipper family.

And he was critical of Campbell, noting, “not once did the defendant … express an iota of empathy or sympathy toward the victim’s family.”

The judge pointed out Campbell blamed the victim for what occurred and that he was the victim.

“He all but plainly stated his belief that the victim deserved what happened,” Zanic stated.

“You showed no remorse after you committed this crime. As a man was dying at your feet, you were standing over him screaming, holding your weapon, planning your defense, yelling at your neighbors why you had to shoot him, concocting yourself a defense story while a man laid dying at your feet. You didn’t render aid. You did nothing but worry about yourself.”

Campbell is presently incarcerated in the State Correctional Institution, Houtzdale.