New testimony in the Ckaron Handy murder trial raises suspicions that the alleged .22 caliber pistol used to shoot Kevin Battista in December 2006 may have been used in another homicide.
Handy, 26, is accused of fatally shooting Battista, a union machinist and father of two, as he attempted to buy drugs at the intersection of Mitchell Road and Airacobra Street in the Bloomsdale-Fleetwing section of Bristol Township.
Advertisements
Retired Montgomery County Detective John Finor, who is a firearms expert often used by Bucks County authorities, testified that the fragmented .22 bullet recovered from 30-year-old Battista appears similar to one used in the April 29, 2007 shooting death of Eric Doggett, 29, of Trenton. Doggett was shot dead by James Williams, who was sentenced five to 20 years in prison several years ago after he was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter.
In court on Wednesday, prosecutors and Bristol Township police said they could not confirm the same weapon was used, but is was a theory.
Authorities have said before that Williams and Handy were friends.
Advertisements
Former Fleetwing-Bloomsdale drug dealer Jimmy Cooper testified that he saw first hand Handy shoot at a “white male” in Battista’s red Ford F-150 Supercab truck. While he could not confirm it was Battista in the truck, Cooper testified that Handy was the only individual in the area of the red pickup truck and must have been the one to fire the shots.
Cooper said he saw a “red flash” from a gun and “hauled ass” out of the section because he didn’t know why the gun was fired.
Advertisements
According to Cooper, Handy was wearing a mask to help conceal his identity, but was recognized in the area by the testifying witness through his voice. The witness testified that he and Handy were “associates,” making them friendly enough for Handy to be recognized by voice.
During the cross-examination, Cooper’s credibility was attacked by the defense, noting that the witness has a criminal record and implied that the witness only appeared to testify in fear of being held in contempt of the court.
Handy’s defense attorney, Michael Goodwin, made sure to note in court that a five-year mandatory jail sentence connected to a drug arrest was waived in favor of probation by prosecutors in order to get Cooper to testify in a 2009 grand jury on the Battista murder.
Credit: Bucks County District Attorney’s Office
Advertisements
Goodwin also asked Cooper about previous statements he made about seeing Kyle Page with Handy the day of the murder.
Cooper said he didn’t “know nothing about Kyle Page.”
Advertisements
Page was charged earlier in the week with perjury after authorities say he lied about witnessing the murder. A check with the county jail showed Page was in the Doylestown prison at the time of the shooting and could not have been a witness.
Cooper along with several of the witnesses, including Bristol Township police officer Dennis Leighton, recalled Handy was wearing a winter coat with a fur hood the day of the murder.
Advertisements
The testimony of former drug addict Sandy Wilson was also discussed Wednesday in court. Wilson originally claimed Jarrel Hopkins shot Battista. However, she later stated she didn’t recall too much from that night due to being on drugs. Bristol Township Police Detective Timothy Fuhrmann testified in court that Wilson’s statements following the shooting weren’t always credible but did offer new leads for investigators.
On Tuesday, Tiffany Calvanese of Levittown testified about Battista’s shooting. She was in Battista’s pickup truck at the time he was shot.
Advertisements
According to court documents, Batista was pronounced dead by 3:14 a.m. on that December 2006 morning. The shooting happened at roughly 2:15 a.m., testimony in court on Wednesday said.
Testimony in the case resumed Thursday in Doylestown.
Advertisements
