SUNBURY, NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Police have arrested a man who is being charged with homicide after a bar shooting in Northumberland County.
Sunbury police have told Eyewitness News that Randy Easton, 42, was taken into custody Monday night.
Police say Easton is accused of killing Joseph Rice, 33, in a shooting that occurred at Laughter’s Bar on South Third Street early Sunday morning.
According to the Sunbury Police Department, on Sunday, September 25, around 2:30 a.m., officers responded to a reported shooting at the Laughter’s Bar in the 100 block of South Third Street in Sunbury.
Once arriving on the scene, police say they saw a group of people giving CPR to a man, later identified as Joseph Rice, 33.
Investigators stated that a bartender informed police they saw a woman pick up a machete/knife from the ground and place it inside a vehicle in the parking lot.
Upon further investigation, it was discovered that three women, met up with Rice at the parking lot of the bar, according to court documents.
The three women were brought in for an interview with police where they stated that Rice was armed with a machete/knife and appeared to be agitated and waving the weapon around, police said.
As stated in the affidavit, at one point Rice pointed the machete/knife against one of the women’s faces and pinned her up against a car.
Investigators say a man identified as Randy Eston, 42, of Sunbury, exited the bar to speak with Rice when an argument started between the two.
Police say Rice began to swing the machete/knife and Easton pulled out a gun firing three shots at Rice as he was running away, striking him once in the back. Rice later died from his injuries.
On Monday, around 9:45 p.m. police said they were informed that Easton was staying with his girlfriend at the Relax Inn in the 4600 block of West Branch Highway in Lewisburg.
Investigators arrested Easton around 11:45 p.m. at the hotel without incident and taken to the Sunbury Police Department.
Easton’s girlfriend, Lisa Gebhart, 41, of White Deer, was taken in by police when she told them she and Easton did not find out that Rice was dead until the next morning on the news, as stated in the affidavit.
Police say Gebhart and Easton went to the motel two nights after the shooting.
Easton has been charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, and gun-related charges. Gebhart is being charged with hindering the apprehension of a suspect.