Appeal by man convicted in 2006 Manor killing denied
A former Penn Township man serving a life sentence for the 2006 murder of a man near train tracks in Manor will not receive another trial.
Westmoreland County Judge Christopher Feliciani ruled there was no basis to overturn the first-degree murder conviction against Jason Maple.
Maple, 34, was convicted in September 2008 for his role in the shooting death of William Teck. A first trial earlier that year ended in a mistrial when a judge found evidence that members of Teck's family had tried to influence the jury during its deliberations.
Maple contended his lawyer during the second trial provided an inadequate defense by not calling an expert witness who could have testified that excessive alcohol use on the night of the killing would have rendered Maple unable to form an intent to kill.
Although Maple testified during the trial that he was drunk the night he killed Teck, Feliciani ruled that even if an expert witness had been used in the case, it likely would not have altered the verdict.
“This court finds that Maple's recollection of the events shows that Maple killed Mr. Teck willfully, deliberately and with premeditation,” Feliciani said in a written ruling released Thursday. “Maple was aware of his actions and any alcohol he consumed did not prevent him from forming the specific intent to kill.”
Prosecutors said Maple led a group of four men and his girlfriend, Jennifer Vinsek, 34, to Manor to find and rob Teck.
Teck and a friend, Patrick Altman, were lured out of a diner by being told there was a party at the railroad tracks. Maple, armed with a shotgun, followed them to the tracks and fired the gun, killing Teck and wounding Altman, prosecutors said.
Vinsek was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
The three other men involved in the killing pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and testified against Maple and Vinsek.
Rich Cholodofsky is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.
