CLEARFIELD – The case against a DuBois man accused of shooting and killing his wife’s lover will go to the jury Thursday.
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 prosecuting the case for the commonwealth.
Johnston is being represented by defense attorneys William A. Shaw Jr. and Stacy Parks Miller of Clearfield.
Johnston took the witness stand in his own defense Wednesday, telling jurors he’d been married 40 years when he learned of his wife’s affair.
It was around Thanksgiving of 2021 and the couple sat down, ultimately deciding to work through their marital issues.
“I thought it was over,” he testified, but in February of 2022, he was told his wife was having an affair and with Srock.
He knew Srock and thought of him as friend.
Still Johnston thought the couple would reconcile, then he found his wife with Srock during the early-morning hours of March 16, 2022.
He tried to talk things through with her; however, he got surrounded by Srock and his friends whom he said made threats towards him.
Because he was afraid of the group, he left and when the couple spoke the next day, his wife admitted she was in love with Srock.
Johnston said she planned to see Srock and tell him it was over. But instead, he told her that he would “take care of it” himself.
That’s when he said he drove to the lot, took the pistol from his secured glove box and loaded it.
Then, he got out of the car, put the loaded weapon in his right pants pocket and stood waiting for Srock to come out.
Roughly 5 to 10 minutes later, he saw Srock heading towards his (Srock’s) blazer and began walking in his direction.
Johnston said he only had the gun on him out of fear Srock and his friends would gang up on him as they had done so before.
As he approached, Johnston told Srock he wanted to talk, but Srock “puffed” his chest like he was some “Mr. Macho Man.”
He said Srock refused to talk with him because he wasn’t a “real man” and couldn’t even “take care of his wife at home.”
The insults enraged him and when he pulled his pistol from his pocket, it accidentally discharged into the ground between them.
Johnston said Srock made another arrogant comment like: what are you going to do now “big man,” shoot me?
“I just lost it,” he testified, claiming he raised the gun but wasn’t really aiming and fired. Srock was struck in the face and fell to the ground.
He didn’t go with intentions of shooting or killing Srock, he said, and afterwards couldn’t believe what he’d just done.
“I was so mad at myself.”
Johnston left with plans of going and taking his own life but instead chose to give himself up to police after speaking with his wife.
She promised to “stand behind me,” he testified.
Nedza aggressively cross-examined Johnston, asking first about his marital status. He confirmed he was still with his wife.
“So, the only person who was in the way of your marriage was Jude?,” asked Nedza, implying Johnston eliminated Srock to keep his wife.
However, Johnston said he would never do that, and would have been man enough to step aside and allow them to pursue a relationship.
Nedza continued her aggressive line of questioning, asking about his intentions and pointing out his actions leading up to the shooting.
She said he drove to the lot, took the gun from the secured glove box, then took ammunition from the center console to load it.
“And you stood outside waiting for Srock to come out,” said Nedza.
“Yes, so we could talk,” responded Johnston. “That was the whole reason for going there.”
Nedza asked Johnston if his first shot was a “warning shot” to scare Srock and get him to “cower down.”
“It was not,” testified Johnston, with Nedza then pointing out that the second shot didn’t hit Srock in the foot or knee cap.
Johnston said Nedza could say it however she wanted to, but he didn’t intentionally aim and shoot Srock in the face.
“I wasn’t aiming at anything.”
Closing arguments will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday after which the jury will receive its instructions and be sent into deliberations.
