Pottstown man faces trial for homicide
POTTSTOWN >> A man accused in the Easter Sunday slaying of a Pottstown man will stand trial in Montgomery County Court.
Stephen Moore, 32, of Pottstown, appeared before a judge Thursday for a preliminary hearing on charges of first and third-degree murder.
The charges stem from the April 21 shooting death of 25-year-old Joshua Smith at 625 Industrial Highway in Pottstown.
According to authorities, the Montgomery County Detective Bureau and the Pottstown Po- lice launched a joint investigation into the homicide.
The investigation revealed that Moore and Smith left Smith’s residence together earlier in the day in a silver Jeep, driven by Moore and owned by Moore’s wife.
The victim and defendant went together to the Home Depot store in Pottstown and were captured on surveillance video purchasing a screwdriver just minutes before the shooting, which occurred next to a parked U-Haul truck, police said.
As Pottstown Police were responding to the homicide scene, a Pottstown police officer observed a silver Jeep traveling at a high rate of speed eastbound on Industrial Highway, away
from the shooting scene, and began following the Jeep, according to authorities.
The officer saw the Jeep crash at the intersection of High and Wilson streets, and as police approached the crash, the male driver exited the Jeep and fled the scene on foot, police said.
Following the crash, detectives said they recovered a Ruger .38 caliber pistol, a Taurus 9 mm pistol and two cellphones Ballistics tests determined that a bullet recovered from the deceased’s body was fired from the Ruger .38 caliber firearm found in the Jeep.
An arrest warrant was issued for Moore on April 24, 2019 and he was arrested on Dec. 3.
After Thursday’s hearing, Moore was held for trial on all charges in Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.