PLEASANT GAP — A dispute over a house here resulted in the death of a 60-year-old man Oct. 27, when his nephew living at the home fired a shot that struck him in the head, according to Spring Township police.
Richard S. Smalley, of Spring Mills, was killed one day after his 86-year-old father passed away.
Ardell Gross, 36, who lived in the house owned by Smalley’s father, was arrested and charged with felony first-degree murder and aggravated assault.
Police said Gross called 911 right after the shooting and said he had shot his uncle and believed him to be dead.
Responding officers found Smalley was not dead and summoned medics, but the victim was declared dead at the scene.
The dispute, Gross told police, was over the house at 227 Whitman Ave., which he said he had lived in with his grandfather for years.
Gross told police Smalley came to the house Oct. 27, telling him the house would be sold.
County records show the one-story house had been owned by the late Richard S. Smalley, 86, since 1962. Smalley passed away Oct. 26 at the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home. The younger Richard Smalley was one of his two children, the other being Becky Gross, who passed away in 2005.
The defendant told police in an interview at the Spring Township Police Department that his grandfather had recently given him power of attorney, and that had angered Smalley.
When Smalley came to the home Oct. 27, Gross said things became heated when Smalley came inside after smoking a cigarette. Gross accused Smalley of trying to sell the house out from under him.
“I shot him after he came in from smoking and basically said he was going to take it all and basically take me down, so I blasted him,” Gross allegedly told police.
Gross had retrieved the gun from the bedroom and fired two shots, saying he intended to hit Smalley in the leg. The second shot, Gross said, is likely the one that hit Smalley in the head, killing him after he fell backward from the first shot. Gross told police there had not been a struggle before the first shot.
A preliminary hearing before District Judge Thomas N. Jordan is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 8. Common Pleas President Judge Pamela Ruest denied Gross bail.
