Jury finds Mt. Pleasant man not guilty of shooting at police
Sep. 13—Richard Teeters has heard the whispers and noticed the stares from community members since his arrest more than two years ago on charges that he fired a handgun toward police as they responded to his Mt. Pleasant Borough residence following a report of a home invasion.
He said he hopes a jury verdict Wednesday that acquitted him of the most serious charges related to that May 24, 2021, shooting will restore his name in the community.
"I made a bad decision when I fired through that window. It's been 2 1/2 years of weight lifted off my shoulders, and I hope people understand," Teeters said.
Following two days of testimony, Teeters was found not guilty of a felony charge of aggravated assault and misdemeanor counts of simple assault and disorderly conduct. He was convicted of a lesser charge of reckless endangerment in connection with the incident two years ago at his Pine Street home.
Police claimed Teeters fired one round through an attic window as officers approached the residence in response to a home invasion call. About 30 minutes after the shot was fired, police said, Teeters came out of the home and placed a gun on the hood of a parked pickup truck near the residence.
Teeters did not testify at trial as defense lawyer William McCabe argued that prosecutors could not prove the shot was fired at police.
"All they knew was they heard a noise and saw a hole (in the window)," McCabe said in his closing argument to the jury.
Teeters, in an interview with the Trib, conceded he fired his gun, but as a warning to police when he believed members of his extended family broke into the home as part of an onging dispute over a relative's estate.
"It's been a tough time. This all started over a will. I was threatened by my stepbrothers, who pulled guns on me. When they showed up at my house I did what I did to defend myself then the police showed up and they were gone," Teeters said. "I fired out of that window. I fired out that window to warn the police. I noticed the police there and heard noises and sirens and fired into the sky. That's all I saw when I fired."
Prosecutors argued Teeters fired through a glass window as police approached the home. Investigators found a small bullet hole in the glass window and spent casings in the attic and in grass in front of the residence. No evidence of a fired round was discovered, investigators testified.
Assistant District Attorney Allen Powanda argued police found no evidence of a home invasion and told jurors that Teeters should be convicted of all four counts.
"He wanted to frighten them away and that's what he did. We're not alleging he shot at police. We are alleging he shot in their direction so they would not come into his residence," Powanda said.
Teeters, a U.S. Air Force veteran and local wrestling coach, will remain free on $250,000 bail until he is sentenced in about three months by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich by email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .
