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WILKES-BARRE — One day after James Edward Roche admitted in open court to killing two Hunlock Township men in 2014, a Luzerne County jury rejected his claims of self defense.
Roche, 33, of Sweet Valley, was convicted Friday of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of criminal conspiracy to commit criminal homicide in the April 21, 2014, fatal shootings of Ronald “Barney” Evans, 73, and his 43-year-old son Jeffrey Evans.
Jurors delivered their verdict after three days of testimony and less than three hours of deliberation.
His conviction is the second in the killings.
A separate jury in September rendered an identical verdict for Roche’s girlfriend and co-conspirator, 40-year-old Holly Ann Crawford. The couple faces mandatory sentences of life in prison.
Lead prosecutor in both trials, Assistant District Attorney Mamie Phillips commended the victims’ family for their untiring devotion to Roche and Crawford’s prosecution. She said the Evanses’ relatives attended each day of both trials, remaining “incredibly strong” throughout.
According to prosecutors, Roche and Crawford agreed to kill the men after a character in the movie “Boondock Saints” reminded Roche of Ronald Evans, with whom Crawford had previously exchanged sexual favors for gifts and money.
Roche, according to testimony, made almost daily threats on Evans’ life in the weeks leading up to the shootings.
Defense attorney Paul Galante said he believes the case is a tragedy for the families of both the men killed and the defendant.
“I thought the Commonwealth’s case was strong, but I was hopeful they would see it the way we saw it,” Galante said of jurors after hearing their verdict.
In his closing arguments Friday morning, Galante did not dispute whether his client shot the father and son, but argued Roche did so in self defense after making the “ridiculous decision” to drive to the Evans’ Hunlock Township residence.
He said an apology letter Roche penned while in police custody two days after the shootings speaks to his remorse and lack of intent to kill the father and son.
“This was a horrible mess that resulted from stupidity, alcohol abuse — anything but a premeditated plan to commit murder,” he said.
In her closing, Phillips proposed the facts of the case pointed only to one possible verdict: guilty on all counts.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a whodunnit,” she said. “James Roche threatened. James Roche killed. James Roche confessed.”
Pointing to Roche’s repeated threats along with his and Crawford’s decision to complete the roughly 10-mile drive from Crawford’s mother’s home to the Evanses’ residence, Phillips contended intent was evident.
“At any point in time they could have stopped. They could have turned around,” she said.
She argued further that evidence Roche shot Ronald Evans while standing in the man’s driveway and then advance onto his porch where he shot him again, combined with the the fact both victims were shot multiple times in the back, compound her position that the killings were intentional.
