In the late summer of 2021, a heated argument shattered the quiet of a Wiconisco Township apartment, leaving one man dead and his roommate facing a homicide charge. James Leshko, a 39-year-old male, was shot and killed on Monday, September 6, 2021, in the Dauphin County residence he shared with his mother and Robert Ernest Thomson.
The day of the fatal encounter began with tension, as Thomson later recounted to investigators.
He claimed that Leshko had been awake since the early morning hours, behaving erratically and making accusations against him. These paranoid delusions, which included a belief that Thomson was involved with Leshko's ex-girlfriend and was favored by Leshko's mother, had reportedly caused erratic behavior in the past.
The situation escalated in the afternoon. An argument between Leshko and his mother drew Thomson's attention. Feeling threatened by Leshko, Thomson retrieved a revolver. He alleged that he fired two shots at Leshko on the back porch of their Walnut Street home, one of which struck him in the chest.
After the shooting, Thomson himself called 911 shortly after 1:30 p.m. to report what he had done. He left the handgun on the kitchen table and waited for law enforcement to arrive. When police and emergency medical technicians reached the scene, they found Leshko on the back porch with a gunshot wound. Despite their efforts to provide life-saving measures, James Leshko was pronounced dead at the scene. Robert Ernest Thomson, then 55, was taken into custody and subsequently charged with criminal homicide.
