District judge holds all charges, including homicide, against Webster for court
Forty-two years ago, Arnold Waddell pleaded guilty in the Washington County Courthouse to charges of aggravated assault and armed robbery.
Back in court Friday – this time as Arnold Webster, appearing via video from the Washington County jail instead of in person – he was ordered held for court on charges of homicide and illegal possession of firearms as a convicted felon.
Slain by a single gunshot to the chest was Joshua Ryan Bowland, 31, the son of Webster’s partner, Josephine Bowland.
On Aug. 28 of last year, the son was returning a car he had borrowed from his mother. Outside of the mobile home his mother shared with Webster at 156 Camp Ground Road, Independence Township, Joshua Bowland began arguing with his girlfriend, April Birtwell.
Webster, 65, went outside, then returned to the trailer, sitting in the dining room.
The victim and his girlfriend also went inside, where the harsh words continued. Josephine Bowland tried to defuse the situation, but a shoving match ensued.
Webster told Joshua Bowland to leave the home, but he did not comply. Webster picked up a rifle and again told the 31-year-old to leave or he would shoot him.
“You’re not going to shoot me” were the last words Joshua Bowland uttered before he was slain with a rifle, Trooper Anthony Sayles testified he learned during the course of his investigation.
Under cross-examination by Assistant Public Defender Adam Yarussi, the trooper testified that neither Birtwell nor Joshua Bowland were “invited” inside by Webster.
Yarussi said after the hearing that he was trying to show that Joshua Bowland “was the initial aggressor.”
In the hearing, Yarussi alluded to Webster having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and asked if the shooter was using supplemental oxygen at the time or a cane.
The trooper said Webster was using neither, but that Webster had experienced numbness of the feet and moved slowly, needing assistance.
Webster, in a statement to Sayles, revealed his criminal record. The investigator did not find any previous charges under the name Arnold Webster, but when he performed a search of the defendant’s Social Security number, it matched the name Arnold Waddell, which was linked to the aggravated assault and robbery charges.
A search of Webster’s bedroom in the home yielded ammunition and several firearms, the investigator told District Judge Ethan Ward.
“He is not allowed to possess any weapons because of his convictions,” said Deputy District Attorney Jason Walsh after the 30-minute preliminary hearing, and the prosecution met its burden of proving an intentional killing occurred by Webster’s own statement to the trooper.
“If he’s not able to use self-defense, it’s going to severely handicap the case,” Yarussi later said.
Ward ordered that Webster continue to be held on all charges.
“The commonwealth is ready to go to trial,” Walsh said after Ward adjourned the hearing.
Webster was originally charged with possessing a prohibited offensive weapon, a sawed-off shotgun, but that charge was withdrawn to allow state police to investigate thoroughly, Walsh said.
“We wanted to bring all charges at one time,” Walsh said, and that occurred when the prosecution issued an arrest warrant for Webster on the criminal homicide charge, plus the firearms violations.
After the hearing, the defense attorney said his client used different names because his stepfather’s last name was Waddell.
As to Arnold Waddell’s criminal history, Yarussi said he didn’t know the details of the aggravated assault and armed robbery that were committed in the 1970s.
Webster is being held in Washington County jail without bond.