CLEARFIELD – The trial got underway Monday for a DuBois man who allegedly shot and killed another man who had an affair with his wife.
Prosecutors say Glen Chester Johnston, 61, shot Jude Srock, 46, also of DuBois, in a parking lot near 26 S. Franklin St., on March 17, 2022.
Johnston is charged with criminal homicide, two counts each of aggravated assault and simple assault, plus reckless endangerment.
District Attorney Ryan Sayers and First Assistant District Attorney Leanne Nedza are presenting the case for the commonwealth.
Johnston is being represented by defense attorneys William A. Shaw Jr. and Stacy Parks Miller.
Johnston wanted to eliminate a problem—his wife’s lover and his “competition,” commented Sayers in his opening statements.
So, he took a gun, found Srock and after the two men had a heated exchange of words, Johnston shot Srock in the head, he stated.
Shaw spoke of Johnston as a loving husband of 40 years who began to suspect his wife was being unfaithful around Thanksgiving of 2021.
“He loved his wife,” stated Shaw, adding Johnston didn’t want to throw their marriage away even though it was an unpleasant time.
On the eve of the alleged murder, he learned his wife had been with Srock again and went to “encourage him to stay away,” stated Shaw.
Johnston was upset as he wanted to save his marriage, but even still Shaw claimed his client didn’t go looking for her lover to kill him.
“That’s not who he is,” stated Shaw, asking jurors to carefully consider the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The commonwealth’s eyewitness testified first, saying he observed Johnston drive by his apartment around 4 p.m. March 17, 2022.
He was at home with Srock and two others when Johnston drove back, entering the lot outside and parking.
The witness said Johnston exited his vehicle and waited for probably 15 – 20 minutes until Srock was leaving.
He said as Srock headed to his vehicle, Johnston started walking towards him and pulled a pistol out, which he heard fire.
Then, he overheard Srock comment: “what you going to do now, shoot me?,” which was followed by a second shot.
The witness called 911 after the first shot and once Johnston fled, he went outside to Srock, “but it was already too late.”
Christopher Loesch with Johnston’s employer told jurors that Johnston met with him the afternoon of March 17, 2022.
He said Johnston was requesting some extra time off work so he could “cope” with his marital issues at home.
“He (Johnston) had been really down,” he testified. “He was depressed and not fully engaged with his duties.”
A few hours later, Loesch said Johnston called him by mistake, and was asking where his (Johnston’s) wife was at.
He told jurors that Johnston was distraught and made the comment: “I blew his head off. He’s gone and I’ll be gone soon.”
He said he asked Johnston to pull over and call authorities, and Johnston agreed to once he got to where he was going.
Johnston then ended the call, said Loesch, who immediately notified his supervisor of the situation as well as police.
Under cross-examination by Shaw, he did admit Johnston also stated, “I don’t know what I was thinking” concerning what he’d just done.
Officer Paul Brosky was first on-scene and found Srock lying motionless in a pool of blood next to his vehicle in the lot.
He had no vitals so Brosky began life-saving measures until medical personnel arrived on-scene.
DuSan Paramedic Supervisor Cody Strouse said Srock was shot in his left cheek area below his eye.
He was loaded into an ambulance where the cardiac monitor showed Srock was in “asystole,” also known as a cardiac “flatline.”
Strouse contacted medical command at Penn Highlands DuBois to report his findings and determination that Srock was deceased.
As directed they ceased life-saving measures and exited the ambulance to await the arrival of the coroner.
The trial resumes at 9 a.m. Tuesday before President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman in Courtroom No. 1, and is scheduled through Friday.
