In the early morning hours of June 4, 2016, a confrontation on Penn Street in downtown Reading, Pennsylvania, ended in the tragic death of 25-year-old David Frankhouser Jr. Frankhouser was a male resident of Reading. The incident, which unfolded around 4:30 a.m., stemmed from an interaction earlier in the evening involving Frankhouser's girlfriend and a security guard named Kevin A.
Miller.
Miller, who was 33 years old at the time and worked as a security guard at a local bar that Frankhouser frequented, had offered to walk Frankhouser's girlfriend home. After leaving his phone number with her at the apartment, Miller was later confronted by Frankhouser, who was seen on security cameras running towards him on Penn Street. The fatal encounter was captured by a nearby restaurant's surveillance system. During the confrontation, Miller fired a single shot that struck Frankhouser. Frankhouser was rushed to Reading Hospital & Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery for the gunshot wound but ultimately succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
Following the shooting, Kevin A. Miller was arrested and charged with Frankhouser's murder. The case proceeded to a two-day trial where Miller claimed he acted in self-defense, stating that he believed Frankhouser was armed with a knife and a gun. Miller’s defense attorney argued that he feared for his life during the altercation.
Despite the video evidence of the shooting, the jury found Miller's self-defense claim credible. They concluded that he had acted justifiably to protect himself from what he perceived as an imminent threat. Consequently, Kevin A. Miller was found not guilty of homicide and all related charges and was acquitted. The verdict highlighted the complexities of self-defense cases and the critical role that video evidence can play in a trial.
