GREENSBURG, Pa. — Prosecutors began calling witnesses to the stand Tuesday in their case against James Miller.
Troopers said Miller fired shots in his neighborhood that broke a window at a neighbor’s home, and then later shot at police as they were canvassing the area in January 2024.
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On Tuesday, jurors got to see video of the moment shots were fired.
In dash cam video from Trooper Brandon Gelet with the Pennsylvania State Police, jurors were able to see him and another trooper shining a light into Miller’s home in East Huntingdon Township in January 2024.
Trooper Gelet knocked on the door multiple times. He said he had to knock hard because there was what he called “obnoxiously loud music” coming from an enclosed porch.
He walked around the home and shined a flashlight as no lights were on. He knocked again and went to another door, where he found a Ring doorbell.
Then, a light came on and he says he saw Miller quickly come from around a dining room table, grab an AR-style rifle, and come to the door within 10 seconds.
He said he and the other trooper then pulled out their handguns and ordered Miller to drop his weapon. But they said Miller instead fired two shots into the ground.
That is visible in the video with dust coming up from the ground after those shots were fired. The officers said they quickly tended to Miller, who was taken to the hospital by EMS.
Miller’s defense attorney said state police acted improperly, and said they fabricated evidence and are now covering it up. She said Trooper Gelet could have left the scene, since they were canvassing the area to find where the shots that hit the neighbor’s house came from, and no one was coming to the door at Miller’s home, even though he spotted an AR-style rifle inside through a window.
Gelet said on the stand he didn’t leave “because I’d like to resolve the issue. There was one,” referring to the neighbor’s house being hit by a bullet.
The prosecution asked him why during a re-direct in questioning, and Gelet responded, “It’s my job.”
The trial will continue with more testimony on Wednesday morning.
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