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WILKES-BARRE — Piece by piece, the evidence was rattled off.
There were the blue latex gloves, some found discarded in the streets outside Eleazar Yisrael’s Hazleton home, others strewn about the murder suspect’s residence. Then there was the key fob — found tucked behind a speaker in Yisrael’s bedroom — that was missing from the victim’s Kia Cadenza.
Black markers were found. Noteworthy, investigators said, because a similar item had been used to scribble over the vehicle identification number on the car, discovered with its license plate removed about two blocks from Yisrael’s residence.
Bloodied camouflage clothing, similar to what Yisrael was wearing when spotted by police the morning he allegedly gunned down Samuel Vacante inside his Drums home, was also discovered in Yisrael’s residence, investigators said. Piles of mail addressed to Vacante and his family, a hunting knife marked with Vacante’s initials, and “extremely dirty” clothing were also located.
Pennsylvania State Police Trooper John Corrigan, a forensic investigator, detailed the bevy of items Wednesday during the third day of Yisrael’s homicide trial in Luzerne County Court.
Yisrael, 31, of W. 10th St., is accused of shooting Vacante, 52, in the back with his own .22-caliber rifle last year. He then allegedly cleaned up the crime scene before driving off in Vacante’s vehicle with his body stashed in the trunk. Yisrael later dumped the body in Carbon County, not far from where he used to live, prosecutors say.
The investigation began after the victim’s estranged wife, Lisa Vacante, called Butler Township police on Aug. 31, 2015, to report Vacante missing. According to testimony, Lisa Vacante and Yisrael were in a romantic relationship prior to Samuel Vacante’s death and were at odds over possession of their home.
The day’s testimony focused largely on forensic evidence as detailed by Corrigan and fellow troopers Christopher Zukowski, Kenneth Houck and David Andruzzi. Yisrael, who has yet to address the court during trial, remained attentive as the evidence was piled on.
Zukowski testified he took the key fob to Butler Township Police headquarters where he was able to use it to gain access to Vacante’s Kia.
Vacante’s blood, meanwhile, was found inside the trunk, according to Andruzzi. Yisrael’s fingerprints were extracted from the vehicle, as well, the trooper said. A Walmart receipt, dated a day after Vacante’s death, was also found in a cup holder, Andruzzi said.
Houck told jurors he reviewed surveillance footage from Walmart in Bloomsburg that showed Yisrael and Wilson Rosenberg inside the store.
Rosenberg, 28, later testified that Yisrael, whom he met through mutual friend Jamal Reid, picked him up in the Kia and drove him to the retailer so Rosenberg could cash a check and purchase a phone card. Yisrael dropped him off afterward, he said.
Yisrael, Reid said, texted him the day after Vacante’s death asking if he had a place to store a vehicle, but Reid’s garage was full. Yisrael, however, left behind a cache of items wrapped in a white blanket that sounded like it was full of “metal tent posts,” Reid said.
A 10-inch knife fell out of the blanket as Reid tried to move it and another blade was found hidden on nearby a shelf, prompting Reid to call police, who discovered three rifles, ammunition, a gold watch, and other knives inside. Vacante was an avid collector of the items, according to testimony.
The trial is expected to continue Thursday.