Fallen Pa. state trooper to be laid to rest with honors
ALTOONA, Pa. — The Pennsylvania State Police trooper fatally shot last week will receive full honors at his funeral Thursday.
Trooper Landon E. Weaver, 23, of Martinsburg, Pa., was killed in the line of duty Friday in rural Huntingdon County, Pa. — little more than a year after he enlisted with the state police and six months after he got married.
According to Pennsylvania State Police, Weaver was investigating a protection-from-abuse violation in Juniata Township, five miles southwest of the borough of Huntingdon, when he was shot and killed. The suspect, Jason Robison, 32, of Hesston, Pa., was killed Saturday morning after threatening officers during an encounter at a vacant mobile home not far from where Weaver was killed.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that after Weaver was shot, Robison acknowledged in a text to his son’s mother that he had shot an officer twice in the head.
Weaver was the 97th member of the Pennsylvania State Police to be killed in the line of duty since the department was established in 1905, according to the department's Facebook page.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf offered his condolences to Weaver’s family and friends and the state police. Wolf on Saturday ordered commonwealth flags lowered until sunset Tuesday.
“Landon will always be remembered for his bravery, his sacrifice, and his willingness to serve,” said Wolf. “The state police are our best and bravest Pennsylvanians, who risk their lives to keep all of our families safe.”
Born in Altoona, Weaver graduated from Central High School in Martinsburg, Pa., and attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania until he was accepted to the Pennsylvania State Police Academy in Hershey. He married his high school sweetheart, Macy Gottshall, on June 4. He graduated from the police academy June 17.
The Associated Press found in court records that Weaver visited Robison’s home Friday investigating a claim that Robison had texted his son’s mother in possible violation of a protection-from-abuse order. Robison said he did not want to go to jail, police said.
Sherry Robison, Robison's mother, told investigators that Jason Robison and Weaver had been in a mudroom beside the kitchen when Robison came into the kitchen, put a lighter on a counter and pulled a small black gun from his pants.
"She stated, 'Jason what are you doing?' " police wrote. Robison then stepped into the mudroom, and she heard a "pop" and saw Weaver fall face-down into the kitchen, bleeding, the document said. Sherry Robison yelled for her boyfriend, who was in the basement, and he called 911.
Police said about 15 minutes later, Jason Robison sent three texts to his child's mother: "I killed the cop," ''Shot him twice in the head he is dead. I love you! I always will!" and "Good bye sweetheart. I'm Sorry."
Police tracked Robison to an unoccupied mobile home nearby the next morning. Police said they shot and killed him after he refused orders and made threats.
State police said Tuesday that Robison shot Weaver with a .32-caliber Beretta semi-automatic handgun. The gun owner did not realize it was missing, but the owner's son, Bradley McMullen, 28, confessed that he stole the handgun from his father and traded it to Robison for five opioid pills, police said. McMullen was charged Monday with theft and receiving stolen property and jailed on $25,000 bail.
The protection-from-abuse application filed in April said Robison had attacked and threatened the woman repeatedly over the years, including once in April when he said he would kill her. The woman said a passing postal worker happened to see the attack and helped her escape. She said Robison had previously "smashed" her home and broke six windows, a stove and her bedroom door.
"He has told me that nobody will want me when he's done with me," the woman said in the protective order application. "Jason has threatened to knock all of my teeth out. When he's not threatening me, he's threatening to commit suicide."
Their son was 6 years old when a judge granted the order April 18.
Weaver's funeral is at 11 a.m. ET Thursday at Blair County Convention Center.
Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Jim Hook on Twitter: @JimHookPO