Three cases consolidated in California shooting
Three men charged in the 2003 shooting death of a California Borough man will be tried in a single jury trial in Washington County.
Judge Janet Moschetta Bell Tuesday issued the order consolidating the cases of John Ira Bronson of Monessen, Howard Irwin of Charleroi and Michael Duncan of Amherst, Ohio, in the death of John Lynn Newman. Irwin had asked that his case be severed from the others, but that motion was denied.
Washington County District Attorney Steve Toprani was at the Homeland and International Security Conference at California University of Pennsylvania when he received the news of the judge’s order.
“What we sought to do was consolidate the cases because of the potential of duplication of witnesses’ testimony and presentation of similar evidence. That was the ultimate argument that we made to the court and the court issued the order accordingly,” Toprani said.
The three men are charged with homicide and criminal conspiracy to commit homicide. Bronson is also charged with criminal solicitation to commit homicide. According to the affidavit filed in the case, Bronson sought to have Newman killed because the California man was an informant who made a controlled drug buy leading to Bronson’s arrest. Bronson is currently serving a federal sentence for drug trafficking.
Prosecutors allege Duncan fired the fatal shot. Newman was found by his teenage daughter in his car near the intersection of First and Liberty streets, near his home. He had died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
A witness in the case, Michael Bowman, testified at Bronson’s preliminary hearing that he was present when Bronson, Duncan and Irwin discussed killing Newman and that Irwin asked him to show Duncan places where Newman frequently sold drugs. Bowman testified that one of those sites was about half a block from the scene of the shooting.
Toprani said there will be pre-trial status conferences on Thursday for each of the three defendants.
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