Duncansville man admits murder | News, sports, jobs

Jenkins

A Duncansville man who claimed his neighbor abused him and his sister as children is facing murder charges after a fatal altercation Thursday night.

According to court documents, 51-year-old David Harold Jenkins turned himself in to state police after shooting 60-year-old Zachary Scott Smola.

Jenkins, who drove to the Hollidaysburg State Police barracks after the shooting, told police he tried unsuccessfully several times to report Smola, who he believed had been harassing him and his sister. According to a private criminal complaint, he was said to have been 11 or 12 years old at the time.

Jenkins told police he felt justice was not being served and filed a private criminal complaint in his last attempt on Sept. 17.

According to the affidavit, Jenkins attempted to investigate that complaint by contacting the Blair County District Attorney's Office at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, but he said the results were unsatisfactory.

During an interview with Allegheny Township and State Police, Jenkins said he felt justice had to be done and left his home to look for Smola around 6:30 p.m. When he saw Smola on a lawn tractor, he confronted him and tried to “choke” him. The two then got into a physical fight that resulted in a wrestling match and an exchange of blows, Jenkins told police.

Jenkins said he grabbed an AR-47 from his car and fired a bullet, hitting Smola in the head from about 10 feet away, the affidavit said. He then got in his car, left the scene and drove to state police headquarters, where he turned himself in, according to his statement to state police.

Police reported that Jenkins had a cut on his hand and defensive wounds on his face, confirming his statements regarding the physical altercation with Smola.

Allegheny Township police were dispatched to the scene of an accident on Longview Drive in Duncansville around 6:33 p.m. after Blair County 911 dispatch received a reported gun call from a person who said, “David Jenkins just shot Zachary Smola,” according to the affidavit.

While investigating the incident, a witness told police they heard a loud bang, saw a white Ford Focus drive away and saw Smola lying in the middle of the road.

That witness said the Focus was owned and driven by Jenkins, who lives nearby.

Another witness told police he heard arguing while he was in his home. He looked out the window and saw Jenkins and Smola arguing. He also saw Jenkins pull Smola off the lawn mower he was operating and the two began arguing, the witness told police.

When the witness failed to connect his phone to 911, he ran to Smola's house so Smola's wife could call 911. At that point, he heard the gunshot, saw Smola lying in the street and saw Jenkins lower a long gun and point it into his vehicle.

Jenkins then left the scene, the witness told police.

A few minutes later, at 6:38 p.m., Jenkins arrived at the Hollidaysburg State Police barracks, the affidavit said.

There he told a police communications officer on tape: “I am here to turn myself in.” When the officer asked why, Jenkins replied “for murder.”

A police officer took Jenkins into custody and examined Jenkins' Focus in the parking lot. He discovered that the car appeared to have “biological material” on the truck and the rear. The officer also saw a rifle and a loaded magazine on the passenger floor.

Police covered Jenkins' hands to preserve evidence for gunshot residue testing, the report said.

Police also applied for and received a search warrant for the Focus, where they found the AR-47 used in the shooting and a loaded drum magazine with 73 rounds of live ammunition, court documents said.

During the investigation, police learned that immediately after the shooting, Jenkins called his children's mother and told her that he had shot the neighbor. The woman and her now-husband told police they didn't know which neighbor Jenkins shot, but he told them he was driving to the state police barracks to turn himself in.

Police also learned that on Sept. 17, Jenkins spoke to the woman and her husband about what Jenkins said was a “pedophile,” but the couple did not know who he was talking about. Jenkins told them that his sister had been abused by the same person, the couple told police.

On Friday, Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks said there is an ongoing investigation into a private criminal complaint filed by Jenkins.

According to Weeks, Jenkins called the office Thursday afternoon, just before the office closed. When the call was disconnected, a secretary was able to get Jenkins back on the line and direct Jenkins to another secretary to handle the private criminal charges.

Jenkins left a voicemail for that secretary, Weeks said.

Weeks said Jenkins admitted he had no evidence of the assaults. Weeks said that even though the alleged incidents occurred many years ago and prosecutors cannot file charges in the Jenkins case, a detective has been assigned to investigate the allegations. The case has been under active investigation since Thursday, Weeks said.

Jenkins was arraigned Friday morning before District Judge Benjamin F. Jones on first-degree murder and second-degree murder, felony counts of aggravated assault, misdemeanor counts of strangulation, tampering with evidence and weapons possession, along with a summary charge of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle .

Bail was refused.

Jenkins has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 17 before District Judge Matthew Dunio and remains lodged in the Blair County Jail.