Homeowner charged with homicide after deadly shooting

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    MONROE COUNTY, Pennsylvania (WNEP) — A man has been charged with homicide after a deadly shooting in the Poconos on Tuesday.

Randy Halterman, 66, from Stroud Township, is behind bars after police say he shot and killed Adam Schultz, 20, from East Stroudsburg, and shot and wounded a woman.

It happened Tuesday night at Halterman’s home on Paradise Trail in Strouds Township.

Halterman has been charged with homicide, attempted homicide, and aggravated assault.

Halterman told authorities that he was in his home and heard a noise he thought was an animal. After a while, Halterman heard people talking inside his home and went to get his handgun. Once Halterman saw the two inside his home, he opened fire from behind a curtain.

Halterman told police Schultz and the woman were running towards a first-floor exit, and that’s when he fired four more shots. He then called 911 and told police he “didn’t want them to get away.”

“Our job is not to determine whether a defendant is guilty or innocent, whether charges are appropriate to be filed or not. That’s the job of a jury. The facts of each case in these castle doctrine cases and home defense are determined specifically on that specific case. Each case is very different and very unique, and it doesn’t fit everything. They have to be judged individually,” said Stroud Area Regional Police Chief Jen Lyon.

The chief tells Newswatch 16 that this is not the first time officers have been called to Halterman’s house.

Chief Lyon says described Halterman’s house as a “hoarding situation.”

“This individual has had prior problems with people breaking into his home, probably because of the condition of the home, and it does appear abandoned.”

Halterman was arraigned virtually. A magistrate denied bail. He’s locked up at the Monroe County Correctional Facility.

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