Family seeks justice for former Springdale High football player shot to death

The family of Jorden “Flashlight” Lee Puskar, who was shot to death Jan. 22 in Avalon, is looking for justice — and the death penalty for the suspect in the killing.

Puskar, 21, of Coraopolis was a 2019 graduate of Springdale High School, where he played tight end for the Dynamos football team. His father, Michael, also played for Springdale as a running back.

Jorden Puskar worked for his grandfather, Lee Slogan, at his sub shop, Carhops of Monroeville, learning the family business.

The suspect in the killing is Samuel Lee Tolfa, 32, of Hopewell, who was arrested near the scene. He has waived charges to court on felony counts of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary, carrying a firearm without a license and fleeing from police. His preliminary hearing Wednesday in Allegheny County Magisterial District Court was continued to Feb. 18.

“We are looking for justice for Jorden,” said Donna J. Hyatt of Folsom, Calif., who is Puskar’s grandmother.

“We are hoping no one in the court system accepts a plea deal,” Hyatt said. “We feel it’s premeditated murder, and he should be charged and given the sentence due for premeditated murder — the death penalty.”

“I will be in the front row for the trial, along with the rest of our family,” Hyatt added.

More than 75 family members and friends gathered for a candlelight vigil Saturday at Springdale High School to honor Puskar and to shine a light on his killing, Hyatt said.

Tolfa confessed to the Jan. 22 killing to Allegheny County Police, according to the criminal complaint filed in the case.

He told police he got angry on discovering that a woman he knew declined to see him and lied to him while spending time with Puskar in her apartment, the complaint said. Tolfa told police he saw Puskar’s car parked at the woman’s home in Avalon, police said.

The woman has not been identified by police.

Tolfa scaled the back deck of the home and broke in, according to the complaint. He chased and assaulted the woman, police said.

Tolfa told police he found Puskar in the living room, and when he started to move around, Tolfa shot him multiple times, including in the head, the complaint said.

Avalon police arrived at the crime scene and sent out an alert to be on the lookout for Tolfa, who had fled the apartment, police said.

Sewickley police spotted Tolfa’s vehicle on Route 51 heading toward Beaver County, and a brief chase ensued before he was apprehended, the complaint said.

Tolfa was denied bail and is in the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, according to court documents.

Hyatt said her grandson’s death was a result of the “devastating impact of a needless act of gun violence.” She addressed gun violence at the vigil.

“I’m 66 years old. And in our day when there was jealous rage, you might grab a guy and punch him, call him a jerk; in Pittsburgh, you would call him a jagoff,” Hyatt said. “He (Tolfa) was a coward. He couldn’t face my grandson without a gun in his hand.”

Puskar’s mother, Nicole Davies of Coraopolis, said: “We are not against guns when they are used for sport. But we do condemn guns being used to solve problems or when in rage.”

Puskar’s father, of Springdale, added he also was not against guns but the “senseless acts of gun violence.”