Man killed in Mt. Morris during dispute
MT. MORRIS – A Parkersburg, W.Va., man who witnesses said was beating on cars and threatening drivers on Locust Avenue in Mt. Morris was shot and killed Thursday afternoon.
The shooting occurred at 4:43 p.m. on Locust Avenue, a mile west of Interstate 79, according to a report released by Pennsylvania State Police in Waynesburg.
The victim, Dustin Lee Miller, 33, was traveling to West Virginia with his mother for a mental health evaluation when he became irate, parked the vehicle and exited, according to Trooper William C. Brown, the investigating officer. Miller jumped in front of a passing vehicle and began damaging it.
Cam Ray Lemley, 66, of Core, W.Va., exited his vehicle with a revolver and an argument ensued, which led to Lemley shooting Miller. The police report ruled the nature of the incident a homicide, but said it appears justifiable. After consulting with the district attorney’s office, Lemley was released. The investigation is ongoing.
Joshua Lewellen of Mt. Morris was driving east on Locust and stopped for traffic in front of him when he saw Miller in the street beating on a pickup truck in the opposite lane.
“I saw the guy jump on the front of the truck, then the guy (the driver) hit the gas to try to throw him off,” Lewellen said. Miller ended up in the pickup truck bed, he said.
“The guy (in the bed) tried hitting the window in the back when I heard the shots.” Lewellen said he heard two shots fired.
Earlier, Miller had a confrontation with another resident, accoring to another witness.
Alex Hall, 15, of Mt. Morris, said he was riding his bicycle home from work when he saw a man kicking a small SUV backing out of a driveway onto Locust. A woman was driving the vehicle.
“I said, ‘I’ll pull off to see what I can do,'” Hall said. He said he watched the man throw a flower pot at the front of the vehicle.
Hall said he approached the man.
“He was irate, his eyes were really big,” Hall said. “I just said, ‘Is everything OK? And he said, ‘No, not everything is bleeping OK. Get the (expletive) out of here or I’ll end it all right now.'”
Hall said Miller came toward him and he backed up, telling him, “Just calm down, and I’ll get on my bike and leave.”
Hall said he got bicycled away, turning down Ellsworth Avenue, where he called 911. Traffic was backing up and he said he told several drivers to turn around. He said he then heard two shots.
Alex Holbert of Bobtown said he was driving on Locust and saw Miller yelling at Hall, who is his stepbrother. He said he stopped and ask Miller what he was doing and why he was threatening his stepbrother.
“Get out of the car and let’s finish it now,” the man said. “He put his hand down by his thigh, acting as if he had a holster and a weapon,” Holbert said.
Holbert said he drove off and when he traveled a short distance down the road he heard a vehicle skid and then heard two gun shots. He said he quickly looked back after hearing the shots and “saw the body drop to the road.”
Holbert said Miller walked “as if he was sort of a bit drunk; he was limping,” he said. Holbert later added Miller looked “out of his mind.”