Jury selection and trial scheduled for homicide case
Apr. 29—SUNBURY — The jury selection and trial for accused killer Brian Heffner and two defendants are scheduled for August in Northumberland County Court.
Heffner, 40, of Coal Township, is accused of firing the gun that killed Sean Maschal, 33, of Mount Carmel, in Mount Carmel Township on Sept. 12, 2017, while co-defendants Robert Villari Jr., 34, of Coal Township, and David Brown, 37, of Ashland, are accused of attempting to cover it up. President Judge Charles Saylor scheduled the jury selection is scheduled for Aug. 16 with two weeks allotted for the trial.
Defense attorney Kate Lincoln said she has had trouble reaching her client Brown while he was imprisoned at SCI-Coal Township and later at SCI-Camp Hill. Attorney John L. McLaughlin and co-counsel Michael P. Dennehy, of Danville, who represent Heffner, said they may need more time if one of the other co-defendants chooses to take a plea deal.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Seward told Saylor that the Commonwealth only needed four days to present its case. McLaughlin, Dennehy, Lincoln and Villari's Attorney Richard Feudale said they would need at least one to two days to present the defense witnesses.
Villari, imprisoned on a bail violation, and Brown, imprisoned on an unrelated matter, told police that Heffner was the one who fired the gun that killed Maschal. Maschal was found the next day, off Route 901 in a wooded section of Mount Carmel Township, east of Locust Gap. Mount Carmel Township Police arrested Heffner on April 12, 2018, and charged him with 14 counts, including homicide, aggravated assault and robbery.
Brown helped Heffner conceal evidence of the homicide, knowing he was making those items unavailable to officers performing the investigation, according to court documents. He harbored Heffner in his home in Ashland, provided transportation to Heffner before, during and after the homicide, concealed evidence and provided false information, police said.
Police said they didn't call or attempt to call 911 or render aid for Maschal. Instead, they dumped the body in a wooded area near Locust Gap, robbed him and then sold the murder weapon for drugs in Lebanon, police said.
Villari is not charged in the homicide, but, according to the police report, was "present during the time a crime had been committed involving a handgun in Mount Carmel Township" on Sept. 12, 2017, and assisted in getting rid of the gun, bullets and magazine. Villari is charged with two felony counts of owning a firearm as a convicted felon and conspiracy and two misdemeanor counts of tampering with evidence and obstructing justice.
