Shotgun and cleaning solution added to homicide trial evidence

A sawed-down shotgun and a container of all purpose cleaning solution were the focus in Tuesday's continuation of the trial for Jason Gardner, who is accused of shooting and killing Pennsylvania College of Technology student Terrell Henderson-Littles on Jan. 9, 2013.

Gardner and fellow gang member Mirad Shabazz were meeting with Henderson-Littles to buy marijuana when the slaying took place.

The second day of the trial began with testimony from Carl Farley, who discovered the murder weapon in a snow bank behind White Deer Run at 901 Vine Ave.

Farley was working as a maintenance man for White Deer Run at the time and observed a piece of wood protruding from the snow as he was putting trash in the business's dumpster.

On closer examination, he saw the wood working on the handle and assumed it was a gun. Farley notified the college police force and soon city police were on the scene to uncover the weapon.

City police Agent Raymond Kontz testified that he arrived on the scene after Farley's report and helped to uncover the gun, which he described as a sawed-off shotgun about a foot in length. The gun was uncovered just two days after police had searched the area for the weapon after Shabazz told state police that they disposed of the gun near a church.

The gun was processed by city police Lt. Arnold Duck. Duck told the court that, while he was examining the weapon, he discovered a red stripe around a safety button, indicating that the gun was in the firing position. Inside the barrel, he found a 12 gauge Winchester shell hull that showed the gun had been fired.

Duck said he did not perform a finger print test because the texture of the weapon would likely not yield results, but he did swab parts of the gun for a DNA test. Results of the test have not been shared in court.

Isaiah Fulton, a fellow gang member whom Gardner and Shabazz were visiting in early 2013, testified that Gardner did bring a gun with him on the trip, and kept it in a backpack. The gun, nicknamed "Bishop," was in the bag with Gardner at the time of the shooting, Fulton said.

After the shooting, Shabazz and Gardner left the scene in different directions, but eventually met up with Fulton and another friend before returning to the 807 W. Third St. apartment where Gardner and Fulton had been staying with Fulton's former girlfriend, Shontay Payton.

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Shotgun and cleaning solution added to homicide trial evidence