A hearing date for the Cambria County man accused in the beating death of Tyrone’s Neptune Fire Company chief Ray E. Stringer won’t be known until at least next week.
A clerk at Magisterial District Judge Mary Ann Zanghi’s office said they expect to know sometime this afternoon if 29-year-old George T. Lightcap IV has retained his own attorney or if a public defender will be appointed. Either way, a preliminary hearing date in the homicide and aggravated assault case won’t be set until next week at the soonest, according to the clerk.
The actual preliminary hearing won’t happen until at least September. The clerk said it might even be scheduled for October. She explained it depends on the attorneys involved in both sides of the case.
Lightcap is accused of beating Stringer during an altercation that happened at the Nanty Glo VFW in the early morning hours of Aug. 19. According to the affidavit of probable cause obtained by The Daily Herald, Stringer was lying on a floor in the foyer area of the VFW when Nanty Glo Borough Police arrived on the scene at 1:18 a.m. Emergency medical personnel were already at the scene treating Stringer when police arrived. The investigating officer said he observed a large amount of blood on and around the man on the floor.
The Nanty Glo police interviewed several witnesses outside that were in the vicinity of the VFW at the time of the incident. The witnesses gave a description of the man and said he ran from the VFW.
The criminal complaint said Lightcap’s sister, Michele, indicated she had ordered Stringer to leave the bar. She said her brother had verbal exchanges with Stringer prior to the incident. When Stringer went to leave the bar, he struck Lightcap.
The Nanty Glo man then followed Stringer into the foyer of the bar, where according to the affidavit, he allegedly struck Stringer repeatedly on or about the face while the victim was on the ground.
Stringer was airlifted by helicopter to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center and died there a little more than an hour after the initial call to 9-1-1.
Lightcap was taken into custody later on the morning of the incident. He was given his rights and told he was being arrested for criminal homicide. Police said Lightcap made statements, which included, “I can’t believe that I am in handcuffs right now when I’m not the one who started this. Look at my face.”
During a press conference on the day of the incident, an assistant Cambria County district attorney indicated Lightcap had also been injured as a result of the incident. Other than the accused’s comments and the report he had been struck by Stringer, Lightcap’s injuries or the extent of his treatment are not explained in the criminal complaint.
The Cambria County Coroner, Dennis Kwiatkowski, ruled that Stringer died from asphyxiation by blunt force trauma.
Stringer had been in Nanty Glo as a delegate at an annual firefighter’s convention. The incident occurred away from the convention activities, according to event officials.
Chief Stringer’s funeral services and burial with fireman’s procession honors were held on Tuesday.
