By Joseph Kohut
The Times-Tribune
HONESDALE, Pa. — A 21-year-old man shot and killed by state police Monday carried a rifle in his arms and had two other rifles slung across his shoulders when he turned to face three state troopers who responded to his Canaan Twp. home, authorities said.
Derek DeGroat didn’t comply with the state troopers’ commands to drop his weapons and stop walking, said Wayne County District Attorney Janine Edwards at a Wednesday press conference. The state troopers yelled the command more than 10 times.
“He refused,” Ms. Edwards said in prepared remarks. “Over and over they yelled to him to stop walking. He continued to refuse.”
More details on the deadly incident emerged Wednesday during the press conference at the county courthouse in Honesdale. However, the names of the three state troopers who shot Mr. DeGroat were not released. The three have not been interviewed by investigators and won’t be interviewed until 72 hours after the incident, which is state police protocol, authorities said.
“They’ve been debriefed on what to expect physically and psychologically ... to put them in the best possible position to move the investigation forward,” said state police Capt. Christopher Paris, commander of Troop R, which oversees the barracks in Honesdale, among others in the region.
Several state troopers who were at the scene but not involved in the shooting were interviewed, Ms. Edwards said.
State police responded to 9 Volunteer Way on Monday after a 10:36 p.m. call to 911 placed by Mr. DeGroat’s sister, Breanna DeGroat. Ms. DeGroat said her brother had a gun and threatened to kill himself.
The call disconnected. A state police dispatcher reconnected the call and spoke with Mr. DeGroat’s mother, Sheila DeGroat. She reiterated what her daughter said and the phone moved to Mr. DeGroat’s girlfriend, Lindsey Erk.
Ms. Erk told the dispatcher her boyfriend armed himself with three guns and said “if you call 911 I’m going to shoot them,” implying the police, Ms. Edwards said.
Ms. Erk later told investigators she and her boyfriend had been at a party that night and Mr. DeGroat gets mean when he drinks. They argued throughout the night. He armed himself with a rifle when they arrived at the home on Volunteer Way.
Ms. Erk tried to take the gun from him and she cut her hand. When sirens were heard, Mr. DeGroat emerged from the home armed with three rifles, a machete and a hatchet, she told investigators. Ms. Erk went to a neighbor’s driveway and hid with Mr. DeGroat’s mother behind a parked vehicle.
State police vehicles arrived at the home. They flooded the area with light and watched as an armed Mr. DeGroat walked from a tree in the lawn toward the house, Ms. Edwards said.
The state troopers shouted at him to stop. He moved the rifle around the front of his body.
Gun in hand, he turned and faced the three state troopers. The three opened fire.
“Mr. DeGroat fell to the ground,” Ms. Edwards said.
The state troopers approached him, began CPR, applied pressure to his wounds and spoke with him until an ambulance arrived. County Coroner Edward Howell pronounced the 21-year-old dead at 11:53 p.m.
“I intend to do a thorough and professional investigation in this matter,” Ms. Edwards said.
It’s unknown how many times state police shot Mr. DeGroat or if the rifles he carried were loaded. The three state troopers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave, which is standard protocol.
“We’re working very diligently,” Capt. Paris said. “Many of us up here have not slept and there are many others who have not slept very much over the last 36 hours. ... We want to bring this investigation to a close and wer’e doing everything we can to do that.”
Copyright 2015 The Times-Tribune