Investigators seize evidence from Shade Township murder scene, troopers say

Aug 18, 2023

Reporter

HOOVERSVILLE, Pa. – State police criminal investigators are piecing together details of Friday's shooting death of Clifton Earl Johnson, 64, of Hooversville.

Gregory John Mostoller, 67, of the 100 block of Terrace Drive, Richland Township, is charged with criminal homicide. He is accused of shooting Johnson seven times at a Charles Street residence in what his family called a "cruel and senseless" act.

Criminal investigators executed a search warrant for a residence in the 800 block of Charles Street in Shade Township.

They allegedly recovered 12 Speer .45-caliber auto casings, a forged chrome-vanadium wrench, bullet fragments, a cellphone, a Nowlin .45 ACP pistol, eight Speer .45-caliber auto cartridges, a magazine, a blue tarp and a white rope.

Troopers said Mostoller called the station at 10:49 a.m. and said, "A guy came at me with a wrench and I killed him," a complaint affidavit said.

Troopers said that when they arrived, they found Johnson partially under a sliding barn door. He had been shot seven times.

Troopers arrested Mostoller at the scene, where he reportedly admitted to killing Johnson, but then refused to answer questions.

Troopers have not disclosed an alleged motive.

Mostoller is being held in Someret County Jail.

Johnson was a 1976 graduate of North Star High School in Boswell, and was owner and operator of Johnson Trucking for over 30 years, according to his obituary. Johnson is remembered as laid-back, kind and a man who loved children.

Deaner Funeral Home in Stoystown is handling the arrangements.

Patrick Buchnowski is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5061. Follow him on Twitter @PatBuchnowskiTD.

A Richland Township man confessed over the weekend that he shot and killed a Hooversville man who had attacked him with a wrench at a Shade Township residence, according to state police in Somerset.

Reporter

Patrick Buchnowski is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5061. Follow him on Twitter @PatBuchnowskiTD.

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