Gunman gloated about killing trooper, jury told

Moments after mortally wounding a Pennsylvania State Police trooper in a shootout in Ebensburg last year, the gunman was gloating about the shooting, a Cambria County jury was told Friday.

South Fork Borough Police Patrolman Paul Deffenbaugh, who was among several municipal policemen assisting in the incident, testified the gunman, Mark Leach, was still taunting police after shooting Trooper Joseph J. Sepp of the Ebensburg barracks in a Nov. 9, 2002, shootout with police.

"He (Leach) was still laying on the ground outside his Jeep, and I walked up to him. He was saying, "Die, all you (expletive)! Die!" Deffenbaugh quoted Leach as saying before the suspect was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of multiple gunshot wounds.

The exchange of gunfire occurred after an eight-mile, slow-speed chase that began outside Ebensburg in Summerhill Township.

Sepp died of a gunshot wound to his forehead 38 hours after he was taken to Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown.

District Attorney David Tulowitzki has said he will seek the death penalty against Leach if he is convicted of first-degree murder.

The trial before Judge Norman Krumenacker enters its fourth day this morning.

Jurors heard from two policemen yesterday that Leach was brandishing a weapon as he fled police. Deffenbaugh and Croyle Township Police Patrolman Michael Pompa both said they observed Leach steering his Jeep with one hand during the chase while he held a handgun in his other hand.

"He (Leach) had one hand on top, operating the steering wheel, and had a black handgun on top of that hand, holding the weapon with his other hand," Pompa said.

Pompa said he was called by Summerhill Township police Patrolman Brett Lysinger shortly after Leach was pulled over by Lysinger on suspicion of drunken driving. The stop near the intersection of routes 160 and 53 in Summerhill occurred between 1:30 and 1:45 a.m. Nov. 9.

"Officer Lysinger told me the individual he had stopped was belligerent ad wasn't complying with his demands. Lysinger said we're going to have trouble because (Leach) was intoxicated and belligerent," Pompa said.

Pompa said as Lysinger approached Leach on the driver's side of the Jeep to ask him to get out to perform field sobriety tests, Pompa approached on the passenger side with his gun drawn. Pompa said when he shined a flashlight inside, he saw Leach reaching for a handgun lying on the seat.

"I yelled, "Gun! Gun!" and we both retreated and repeatedly asked him to exit the vehicle," Pompa said.

However, Leach drove off, Pompa said.

Pompa said Leach stopped three times while police were pursuing him but refused their requests to exit the vehicle. Leach eventually crashed his Jeep into a utility pole in Ebensburg shortly after police used "stop strips" that deflated three of its tires.

Leach's attorney, Thomas Dickey, of Altoona, repeatedly questioned Pompa about discrepancies between his testimony yesterday versus written and verbal statements the officer made to police after the shooting.

"Today, before this jury, is the first time you mentioned seeing Mr. Leach holding a handgun, isn't it?" Dickey asked.

Pompa replied that his reports to authorities were only "summaries" of the incident.

Assistant District Attorney Gary Jubas was able to buttress Pompa's testimony by having the officer read transcripts from 911 dispatching recordings. The transcript had Pompa relaying to other policemen his concerns over seeing Leach holding the weapon.

Deffenbaugh also testified that after Leach crashed his vehicle, he exited the Jeep with handguns in both hands and began firing at police.

Dickey's defense strategy to date has been that police began the shooting, and Leach fired back to defend himself from overzealous police.

Authorities said Sepp, a 10-year state police veteran and the father of three young children, was killed by a bullet fired from Leach's .41-caliber handgun. Leach also was firing a .380-caliber handgun at police, according to reports.