A Poconos area man accused of opening fire at a municipal meeting, killing three, faces arraignment on homicide charges Monday.
Authorities say Rockne Newell, 59, sprayed dozens of rifle rounds as he targeted officials in Ross Township, a Pocono Mountains community about 85 miles north of Philadelphia.
Monroe County District Attorney David Christine intends to seek the death penalty for Newell who will be arraigned by video on 12 total counts including homicide and assault, according to court records.
Police said Newell packed a rental car with guns and ammunition before opening fire at the Ross Township municipal building Aug. 5, killing 62-year-old township zoning officer David Fleetwood and two Saylorsburg residents, Gerard Kozic, 53, and James LaGuardia, 64.
The 5-foot-10, 240-pound suspect was eventually tackled by two men and shot in the leg during the scuffle, officials said.
Police said Newell, a disabled junk dealer, was upset over losing his debris-strewn property in the wake of a court battle with the township over complaints that he lived in a storage shed, built an illegal culvert and used a bucket outside as a toilet.
He has said he regrets that “innocent people got hurt,” but claimed township officials persecuted him for more than two decades. He allegedly told police he had gone to the meeting in hopes of finding the township officials in one place.
In court the day after the shootings, a judge asked Newell if he owned any real estate.
“They stole it from me. That's what started all this,” he replied.
Newell allegedly used a Ruger Mini-14 rifle to blast a barrage of gunfire through a wall into the meeting room Monday night in Ross Township, about 85 miles north of Philadelphia, before entering the room and shooting a supervisor and four residents, two of whom survived.
Newell then retreated to the car and picked up a revolver, authorities said. When he returned to the meeting room, he was tackled, officials said.
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"I wish I killed more of them!" Newell shouted when state Trooper Nicolas De La Iglesia arrived on the scene before 8 p.m., according to the trooper's affidavit.
