Credit: Bucks County District Attorney’s Office
The 24-year-old Yardley Borough man accused of shooting the town’s police chief earlier this month had the charges against him held for trial.
Following a preliminary hearing Tuesday for Colin Frank Petroziello, 24, District Judge Corryn Kronnagel sent the charges of attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer, two counts of attempted murder, six counts of aggravated assault, and one count each of assault of a law enforcement officer, persons not to possess a firearm, false imprisonment, recklessly endangering another person and possession of an instrument of crime to the Justice Center.
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Yardley Borough police Chief Joe Kelly, who suffered shotgun blast injuries and is on the mend; Bucks County Probation and Parole Officer Christina Viviano, who was standing next to Kelly; a member of the South Central Emergency Response Team, and a Bucks County detective all testified during the hearing.
According to authorities, Viviano arrived to Petroziello’s unit in the Yardley Commons Complex around 11 a.m. on August 18. She heard yelling and the slamming of doors, which led her to request police to assist her. Right after Kelly arrived and knocked on the door, the shotgun blast came through the door.
Kelly and Viviano took cover and waited on additional officers, who then engaged in a roughly four-hour-long standoff with Petroziello, whose parents told the Bucks County Courier Times he had Asperger’s syndrome, depression, and other mental health challenges. Petreoziello’s father is a retired editor for the newspaper.
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Petroziello’s mother was in the apartment when the shooting happened, but she escaped with tactical team officers assisting.
About an hour before tactical officers made entry to the condo and found Petroziello unconscious in a bedroom, the SWAT team used an explosive to breach a door.
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Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said at the time that the 24-year-old man was taken into custody without incident and suffered no serious injuries.
Aside from the shotgun, a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun, two loaded magazines, and a pair of brass knuckles were located in the apartment.
Court documents listed that Petroziello had two involuntary mental health commitments prior to the shooting and standoff. The commitments in 2012 and 2020 blocked him from lawfully having any firearms.
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Petroziello was on probation, according to court records, for a July 2020 disorderly conduct case where he was sentenced to supervision in January. He was also ordered to get drug and alcohol and mental health treatment.
Petroziello had previous contacts with police departments, including Bristol Township and Lower Makefield Township.
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During Tuesday’s preliminary hearing, Bucks County Detective Frank Groome testified Petroziello was angry, agitated, intoxicated and armed leading up to the shooting. His mother, who was in the condo, had texted with his probation officer before the shooting but never mentioned to her that he was intoxicated and armed.
Kelly told the court he was able to see Petroziello aim the shotgun and move away just as the shot went off.
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Bucks County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Ismael Ramos, a former part-time officer for both Yardley Borough and Tullytown Borough, testified that Petroziello’s mother tossed the Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun out the window to the tactical team before she escaped.
Officers found Petroziello, who was unconscious from a mix of alcohol and Xanax, with the .45-caliber handgun and two loaded magazines in his pants, Ramos testified.
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Attorney Charles Peruto, who is representing Petroziello, told LevittownNow.com his client had a “complete departure of reality” and didn’t even recognized his attorney the second time he met him.
“I feel bad for both parities. The police officer went through the scare of his life, and the defendant has no idea of what he did,” he said.
Peruto said that Petroziello’s family worked to get him help, but he was not receptive too it.
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Kelly suffered an injury to his ear and to his left hand, which required surgery. He was released from the hospital the day after he was shot.
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