Pennsylvania State Trooper killed; suspect later shot

The domestic call came from Sherry Robison's house on Bakers Hollow Road in rural Juniata Township - from someone reporting her son had violated a protection from abuse order.

State Trooper Landon Weaver, 23, went alone to investigate. There, he met purple-haired Jason Michael Robison, 32, who just a week before Christmas had posted on Facebook, "F- THE POLICE!!! The only good cop is a dead cop."

About 6:30 p.m. Friday, gunfire from within the house ripped the cold night air.

Weaver, a rookie trooper, a newlywed, and a dean's list criminology major, was fatally wounded. He became the 97th Pennsylvania state trooper to be killed in action since the department's inception in 1905.

Fellow troopers rushed to the house "and tactically removed" Weaver, Capt. David Cain said at a news conference Saturday afternoon. "Tragically, Trooper Weaver succumbed to his wounds," said Cain, the Troop G commanding officer.

He said officers didn't know for some time whether Robison was still in his mother's home after the shooting.

An all-night manhunt mobilized with nearly 100 troopers, FBI agents, and other law enforcement officers scouring areas near the popular Raystown Lake vacation area of Huntingdon County, near Altoona, posting roadblocks and searching residences.

A late-night advisory described Robison as armed, dangerous, and having "purple hair." A photograph showed a thin-faced man, scruffy and unshaven.

Troopers found Robison after daybreak, armed and holed up in an unoccupied mobile home.

The Hesston man, who had had numerous scrapes with the law, was shot and killed by troopers about 10 a.m. State police said he had threatened the officers and refused demands to surrender.

"When confronted by the troopers, the armed suspect failed to obey commands and made an overt threat toward the troopers," Cain said. "Faced with a deadly situation, troopers were forced to discharge their weapons, resulting in the suspect being fatally wounded."

The mobile home was near the house of Robison's mother, where Weaver had been shot about 16 hours earlier.

State Police reported on Facebook and Twitter that they had found and killed Robison.

The unidentified officers involved in shooting Robison will be routinely placed on administrative leave during the investigation, Cain said.

He was asked whether Robison had shot at anyone Saturday before he was killed. "He killed one of my troopers yesterday," Cain replied. The suspect, Cain said later, had not fired at anyone Saturday.

Weaver had joined the state police on Dec. 14, 2015. On its Facebook page, State Police posted a photograph of him in uniform with the note "End of Watch: Dec. 30, 2016."

Weaver, raised in the tiny south-central Pennsylvania town of East Freedom, graduated from the state police academy in June. He was a 2012 graduate of Central High School in Martinsburg, Blair County. He and his high school sweetheart, Macy Gottshall, were married in June.

The two were pictured, arm-in-arm in cap and gown, at their high school graduation ceremony in a school district newsletter.

On his Facebook timeline, Weaver listed several jobs, including as a night supervisor at Kmart, which he left to join the Pennsylvania State Police.

He studied at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, majoring in criminology.

Condolences poured in through Facebook and other social media sites as word spread of Weaver's killing. Pennlive.com reported firefighters and police officers around the state hoisting American flags in Weaver's honor from highway overpasses.

Cain would not say why Weaver responded by himself to the Robison address, which he said was being investigated.

And Cain would not answer questions about who else may have been at the Robison home when Weaver answered the call complaining of a protection-from-abuse violation. He also would not say who had originally obtained the PFA order. That would be revealed in "due time," Cain said.

Weaver "was interviewing the suspect inside the residence when the suspect gained access to a firearm" and shot him, Cain said. The State Police captain said it has not been determined who owned the firearm. He did not describe the weapon.

Huntingdon County court records online show that Robison had been arrested Dec. 6 on charges stemming from Oct. 27, including theft, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and driving without a license. He also faced April 4 charges of unlawful restraint, simple assault, and harassment.

In June 2014, he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of a controlled substance and served jail time. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to simple assault and spent time in jail.

Robison vented his feelings toward police on his Facebook page, but those comments - including the Dec. 17 "dead cop" post - appeared to have been deleted Saturday afternoon.

Gov. Wolf offered condolences to Weaver's family, saying the officer "will always be remembered for his bravery, his sacrifice, and his willingness to serve."

Pennsylvania State Troopers Association president Joseph R. Kovel called Weaver "a brave hero who will forever be remembered for his ultimate sacrifice."

The Robison manhunt evoked memories of the 2014 search for suspect Eric Frein in the shooting of two state troopers. Frein is charged with killing Cpl. Bryon Dickson II and wounding another trooper outside the Blooming Grove barracks in September 2014. He led police on a 48-day manhunt before U.S. marshals found him about 30 miles from the shooting scene. Jury selection is slated in March in Chester County for a panel to be bused to Pike County for Frein's trial, according to the Associated Press.

shawj@phillynews.com

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