A Hempfield man is charged with criminal homicide after police said he shot and killed a man late Wednesday night.
Shortly before 8:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, Westmoreland 911 officials received a call from a man identifying himself as Robert D. Naugle Jr., 30, of Hempfield. Naugle told emergency officials, “I walked in on my wife with another man, and I killed him.”
State police responded to a home on the 300 block of Hugh Street, where Naugle resides. He met with police and was taken into custody, telling them that he’d shot the man with a Glock 19 pistol, and checked the man’s pulse afterward to make sure he was dead, according to a sworn affidavit.
Police seized a pistol of the same make and model at the scene.
The victim, identified as James Thomas, was found in the downstairs area of the house. Police did not say where Thomas lives.
Naugle told police he had spoken with his wife, Emily Naugle, earlier in the day about plans to come to the Hugh Street home later that evening, according to court documents.
Naugle told police his wife later canceled their plans, but Naugle traveled to the house anyway and saw a vehicle parked in the home’s driveway.
Naugle unlocked the basement door and observed Thomas with his wife before drawing the Glock and firing approximately 10 times, according to a criminal complaint. The Westmoreland County Coroner declared Thomas dead at the scene.
Emily Naugle told police that her husband had filed for divorce this past November, and had moved out two days prior to the incident, according to TribLive news partner WTAE.
Naugle told police during a subsequent interview that he intended for Thomas to die.
He was denied bail and taken to Westmoreland County Prison. A Jan. 14 preliminary hearing is set in Judge Charles Moore’s Hempfield court.
An attorney for Naugle was not listed in court records.
