by peter e. bortner
Franklin Stumhofer Jr., whom prosecutors allege shot and killed his father last September at the latter's West Penn Township home, and then shot at three other people in Hamburg later that same day, goes on trial today in Schuylkill County Court for both sets of crimes.
Jury selection for the case of Stumhofer, 40, of Molino, is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. today, with the trial slated to begin at 9 a.m. Monday.
"We anticipate about 75 jurors reporting in the pool," Court Administrator Lois A. Wallauer said.
First Assistant District Attorney William C. Reiley, who is prosecuting the case with Assistant District Attorney Thomas J. Campion Jr., said he does not expect the jurors to be questioned individually, since the commonwealth is not seeking the death penalty for Stumhofer.
Prosecutors have charged Stumhofer with one count of criminal homicide, three of attempted homicide, seven of aggravated assault, four of simple assault and five of recklessly endangering another person for what they allege was a two-county crime spree. The defendant has been held without bail in Schuylkill County Prison pending his trial.
Stumhofer faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, which in Pennsylvania carries no chance of parole, if he is convicted of first- or second-degree murder.
"It certainly will (take) multiple days," and perhaps the entire week, for the prosecution to present its case, although prosecutors and Robert J. Kirwan II, Reading, Stumhofer's lawyer, are working on stipulations, or agreements on undisputed facts, that could shorten that time, Reiley said.
State police at Frackville said that Stumhofer went to the 6 Log Lane home of Franklin Stumhofer Sr., 61, about 1:30 p.m. Sept. 7, 2011, and shot his father following an argument about money.
After shooting his father, the younger Stumhofer drove his black Dodge Durango sport utility vehicle to Windsor Township, Berks County, just outside Hamburg, where he encountered three family members in a pickup truck about 2:10 p.m., police said.
Stumhofer fired three bullets into the pickup truck, which was driven by his brother-in-law, Larry Miller, 42, of 150 Upland Road, police said.
The bullets damaged the truck but did not injure Miller or the other two occupants of the truck, brother-in-law Samuel Stumhofer, 35, of Temple, and Blain Schneck, 19, according to police.
Stumhofer turned himself in at the Hamburg state police station in Berks County.
Schuylkill County officials are prosecuting charges resulting from both incidents since it was a continuous act, a decision made by former District Attorney, now Judge, James P. Goodman and Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams after the two discussed the case the day of the incidents.
Kirwan said his client will present a defense, although he declined to say whether Stumhofer would testify, and the trial will show the full story.
"Franklin is looking forward to the trial," Kirwan said. "The evidence presented by both the commonwealth and the defendant will cause the jurors to think thoroughly and apply the law to the facts. It's going to be a thinking person's trial. The commonwealth certainly knows what happened in this case but they don't know why. The jury trial will bring those issues to light."Defendant: Franklin Stumhofer Jr.
Age: 40
Residence: Molino
Charges: Criminal homicide, three counts of attempted homicide, seven of aggravated assault, four of simple assault and five of recklessly endangering another person