From the Pottsville Republican, 12 July 1980:
Youth held for court – In shooting of police chief
ELIZABETHVILLE – Ronald Lamar Kaster Jr., 19, of 469 Pottsville Street, Wiconisco, has been held for court in connection with the August 4 shooting of Wiconisco Township Police Chief Michael Nelson.
Kaster was arrested July 2 by state police at Lykens and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and reckless endangering the life of another person. He was held for court action at a preliminary hearing before District Magistrate Francis J. Reichenbach.
Nelson, 24, of Pillow, was shot twice at point-blank range with a 12-gauge shotgun while parked in his patrol car about 10 p.m., at Pottsville and Center Streets. He lost part of his left forearm in the attack.
Nelson testified that he was sitting in an alley watching traffic when he spotted someone approaching with a double-barreled shotgun. Nelson, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, said that he grabbed the barrel to push the gun away.
He said that the gun went off twice in rapid succession. The first shot shattered his right arm, the second hit his right forearm and side. He managed, despite the loss of much blood, to crawl for help and radio for assistance. He was taken to the Polyclinic Medical Center in Harrisburg, where he remained for two months, at times in critical condition.
The major piece of evidence against Kaster at the hearing was a gauze bandage found at the scene of the shooting by state police trooper Robert McAlister, 12 inches from where Nelson was shot. Kaster had been observed by acquaintances the night of the shooting wearing a similar bandage.
James L. Miller, of the state police crime lab, testified that examination of the gauze found a leg hair and human head hair clinging to the bandage. Kaster had volunteered sample hairs and a sample gauze for comparison. Miller said that, while positive identification of the two gauze samples were identical, and the hair samples were “similar” in color, texture and thickness.
Acquaintances of Kaster’s testified to seeing him, wearing shorts and a gauze bandage on his knee, at the Gratz Drive-In Theater at dusk the night of the shooting, and again around 11 p.m. the same night.
Two of the witnesses, Dennis Masser, 24, of Hegins, and Kenneth G. Paul, 25 of Lykens, said that people regularly leave the theater and return during the movie.
Trooper McAlister testified that the suspect could have driven the 10.1 miles from the theater, ambushed Nelson in the alley just 75 feet from Kaster’s home, and returned to the theater.
McAlister also testified that he had seen Kaster three days after the shooting, and that Kaster had been wearing shorts and a bandage on his left knee, similar to the one found at the scene.
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News clipping from Newspapers.com.
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