[May 15, 2012] Police detail how shotgun jammed in Freemansburg cop shooting Tweet May 15, 2012 (The Morning Call - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- At the second day of testimony Tuesday in the capital-murder trial of George Hitcho Jr., jurors were shown numerous photographs of an arsenal of weapons found inside Hitcho's home after he allegedly killed a Freemansburg police officer. Inside the living room of Hitcho's borough home, two mounted buck heads hung on the wall with two rifles and a sword cradled across the antlers, state trooper Jason Troutman testified in Northampton County Court. He said other weapons inside the home included rifles, numerous boxes of ammunition and a "makeshift weapon" that appeared to be a wooden baseball bat with metal screws sticking out of it. State police firearms expert trooper Kurt Tempinski testified about his examination of the 12-guage shotgun police said was used in the killing of borough police officer Robert Lasso. Using blank slugs, Tempinski showed the jurors how the weapon is loaded. He demonstrated that after firing the shotgun, the slide needs to be pulled back to load another round. Police said after Hitcho fired the fatal shot at Lasso, the shotgun was jammed by the spent shell casing that failed to eject. Tempinski said another live round was in the chamber. During his testimony, Tempinski was surrounded by boxes of ammunition found inside Hitcho's home after the shooting. Jurors were also shown a short video taken inside a state police cruiser immediately after Hitcho's arrest on Aug. 11 in the killing of borough police officer Robert Lasso. State police trooper Seth Kelly testified Monday that after Hitcho was handcuffed and placed in the rear of a police cruiser, he told Hitcho that he would be audio and video taped by a camera inside the vehicle. Kelly said that when he told Hitcho about the recordings, Hitcho answered, "Hey, I'm on Candid Camera." The statement was not recorded on the video shown to the jury. Hitcho is shown sitting on what appears to be a yellow tarp inside the cruiser. He is a shirtless, a tattoo is visible on his arm and his hands are cuffed behind his back. In the video, Hitcho is silent and scowling. He occasionally looks out the window at the police activity around him. Jurors will decide whether Hitcho, 46, is guilty of first-degree murder and, if he is, whether he should be sent to death row of spend life in prison without parole. Hitcho is charged with homicide for shooting Lasso, who was responding to a disturbance report that brought him to Hitcho's New Street home. Police said Lasso, 31, was being attacked by Hitcho's dogs and was moving to use his stun gun against them when Hitcho fired a 12-gauge shotgun at him from behind. Chief Public Defender Michael Corriere is expected to argue that while Hitcho pulled the trigger, he was overwhelmed in a pressure-cooker situation and didn't commit premeditated murder. Under the homicide charge, the jury could also find Hitcho guilty of third-degree murder or voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, all of which would allow him to one day be eligible for parole from prison. ___ (c)2012 The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) Visit The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) at www.mcall.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]