Road rage homicide trial begins in Schuylkill County Court; witnesses recount events

Dec. 6—POTTSVILLE — Holding back tears, Sarah Beard testified Monday in Schuylkill County Court how she watched a man die in the middle of a highway last year in West Brunswick Twp. after being stabbed in what authorities call a road rage incident.

Beard also identified in court the person who she said was responsible for the stabbing, pointing to defendant Tamiir Ion Whitted.

Whitted, 31, formerly of the 100 block of West Market Street in Pottsville, is charged with one felony count of first-degree murder; one felony count of third-degree murder; and two felony counts of aggravated assault.

He also is charged with one misdemeanor count each of simple assault, fleeing or attempting to elude police, resisting arrest, possessing instruments of crime and reckless endangerment.

State police Trooper Tyler Brackman charged Whitted with killing George Marcincin in the southbound lanes of Route 61 at the intersection of Brick Hill Road around 2 p.m. April 12, 2021, the end of a road rage incident that began a short time earlier in Schuylkill Haven.

Beard said she was driving south on Route 61 returning to her home, near Deer Lake, after having lunch with her brother and her 1-year-old daughter in the McDonald's near Schuylkill Haven.

When approaching the intersection with Brick Hill Road, Beard said that she saw a silver car blocking the roadway and a red pickup truck in the same area unable to get around the car.

Brackman previously testified that the red pickup was driven by Marcincin, while the silver car was driven by Whitted.

Beard said that after stopping a short distance behind the pickup because she did not know what was happening, she saw the man in the car get out and stab Marcincin, 38, of Orwigsburg.

"I saw the man in the silver car stab him. He kept stabbing him," the woman testified. "I saw the blade come out of him, and then I saw the blood."

The attack continued, Beard said.

"The man in the red truck was on the ground; it was not over." Beard said. "He (Whitted) kept stabbing him in front of me, that man right there," she said, pointing to Whitted.

Beard said that Whitted then fled north on Route 61 and she went to Marcincin.

"George was bleeding out on the road," she testified. "He kept asking for help. I couldn't help him, but I told him help was on the way."

Beard, under questioning by First Assistant District Attorney Michael J. Stine, said she did not see the actual road rage incident but came upon the vehicles stopped at the intersection, where she watched the stabbing unfold.

Whitted's attorney, David S. Nenner of Philadelphia, questioned the woman about conflicting statements at a preliminary hearing and what she said in court Monday.

One of those discrepancies was that Beard said she saw Marcincin stabbed alongside the passenger's side of his truck, while other witnesses, including Mason Moyer, of Shoemakersville, told the court the man was on the ground between the driver's side of his truck and the concrete barrier.

Moyer told the court that he dropped off metals at a recycling business and was on Route 61 south returning home when he looked in his mirror and saw the red pickup and silver car behind him driving at a high rate of speed.

The truck was "staying back," Moyer said, adding that the car was swerving from lane to lane and then got in front of the pickup truck and slammed on its brakes.

"I was almost hit multiple times myself," he said.

After the vehicles stopped at the intersection, Moyer could see Marcincin waving his hands but could not hear what he was saying, Moyer testified.

He said he also saw Whitted exit his car, enter the back of the vehicle, reach for something and come out with a knife.

The defendant then approached Marcincin and began to stab him, Moyer testified. He said that Whitted approached Marcincin "quickly" and with "no hesitation."

"He had a knife and he stabbed him in the chest," Moyer said. "I saw the driver of the truck flinch. He had his hands up in a protection stance."

Moyer said he left the area because he was scared, but returned a short time later, only to learn Whitted fled.

Brackman said that Whitted fled north and went into Orwigsburg and then came out in the area where the stabbing occurred and was apprehended a short distance away on Route 61.

Prosecution

In opening statements earlier in the day before President Judge Jacqueline L. Russell, Stine told the jury the prosecution would use video surveillance, witness statements and forensic and other investigatory tools to show how Whitted targeted Marcincin in what started as a road rage incident and ended with Marcincin being stabbed 19 times in front of terrified witnesses.

"This is not a caught on camera kind of case," Stine told the jury, stressing that he will use witnesses and investigator testimony to "piece together" the events leading up to the killing.

Stine said the incident began when Marcincin exited the AutoZone store parking lot in Schuylkill Haven in his pickup and encountered Whitted, who was southbound on Route 61.

Stine said security videos from various businesses will show the two vehicles traveling south and changing positions before reaching the intersection with Brick Hill Road, where Whitted blocked the other man's truck, confronted him and eventually stabbed him before fleeing.

Whitted, he said, was driving in an aggressive manner, according to witnesses.

"Without hesitation he (Whitted) goes after George," Stine said.

Defense

Nenner told the jury that although his client stabbed Marcincin, the defendant was actually afraid for his life while southbound on Route 61 and being followed by Marcincin, who was driving in an aggressive manner.

"George played a dangerous game of cat and mouse" passing Whitted and then slamming on his brakes and traveling at speeds between 60 mph and 70 mph, almost hitting his car at times, the attorney said.

Nenner said his client tried to stay ahead of Marcincin because the victim's pickup was much larger than the defendant's car.

"Tamiir Whitted tried to stay in front of the truck for his own safety," Nenner said.

At one point, Marcincin rolled down his window and, using a racial slur, told Whitted, "I'm going to kill you," according to Nenner.

When both vehicles stopped, the defendant was in fear for his life from a larger, irate man and took action, Nenner said.

"Put yourself in his (the defendant's) shoes; George was irate and he (Whitted) was terrorized," Nenner said.

Nenner said although his client stabbed Marcincin, they must consider all events that led up to the homicide.

Brackman and Trooper Kenneth Dahler of the Forensic Services Unit testified about video surveillance footage obtained from area businesses showing both Whitted and Marcincin on their journey south on Route 61.

Testimony is scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Whitted remains in Schuylkill County Prison without bail, where he has been held since the time of his arrest.