Chilling details emerge in shooting of 2 security guards in Berks
May 19—From jail following his arrest on burglary charges in York County, David B. Hartsook phoned his wife and told her of a gun in their residence that she needed to dispose of, according to state police.
He told her he would go to jail but did not explain further, investigators said in a criminal complaint. A day earlier, Springettsbury Township police had seized his minivan, a Chrysler Town & Country, as part of the burglary investigation.
The wife called the detective working the burglary case and, at her request, police went to the home and confiscated a .32-caliber semi-automatic pistol.
The gun was sent to a Pennsylvania State Police crime lab where it was test-fired and found to be the weapon that was used in the shooting of two private security guards, one fatally, on an industrial property in southern Berks County six months earlier, investigators said in the filing of murder charges against Hartsook, 34.
A vehicle part that fell off Hartsook's minivan and recovered at the industrial property also linked him to the shooting, investigators said.
Hartsook was arrested Thursday afternoon at his home in York city after state police from Reading-based Troop L obtained an arrest warrant for him in the Aug. 6 killing of Troy Rickenbach, 37, of West Reading and wounding of his Rickenbach's brother-in-law Rafael Yambo.
Hartsook was committed to Berks County Prison without bail following arraignment Thursday night on first- and third-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and related charges.
According to investigators:
Yambo and Rickenbach were working as nighttime security at an industrial property in New Morgan that had been plagued by nocturnal thieves removing catalytic converters from trucks in a gravel lot off Quarry Road.
Yambo said he and Rickenbach were hired as security guards by Pinnacle Transport Co. to keep watch over the dozens of trucks parked on the gravel lot because there had been many catalytic converter thefts in recent months.
Just after midnight on Aug. 6, Yambo noticed the glow of a flashlight about 150 yards south of their security vehicle, which was near the edge of the lot near the gate.
He drove toward the area where he saw the light. As he got close, the headlights shone on a dark-colored van parked in an adjacent lot inside a gated parking area on private property.
Yambo immediately called 911 to report the suspicious vehicle to police. While on the phone with a dispatcher, he said Rickenbach walked toward the van.
He watched Rickenbach shine his flashlight inside the van.
Rickenbach ran back to the security vehicle, got in and said there was someone inside the van.
At that point, Yambo noticed a man standing about 5 feet from the driver's side with a gun pointed at him from about shoulder-height. He described the man as 6 feet tall and about 220 to 230 pounds with a reddish-brown beard and a sloppy build, wearing a dark-colored baseball cap.
Yambo shifted the security van into reverse as the first shot was fired. He was struck in the right forearm by a bullet but continued to drive in reverse to try to escape the gunfire. Rickenbach told him that he had been shot as well.
Yambo said he fell between the front seats and played dead. As he was laying there, he heard the shooter's footsteps approaching the driver's side, but there was no more gunfire before he heard the shooter walking away.
A short time later he heard a vehicle's tires peeling out on the gravel.
Yambo stayed between the seats for about 30 seconds. When he sat up, the minivan was gone and he didn't see anyone in the area.
He noticed Rickenbach wasn't moving or breathing. He called 911 and stayed on the line until police and an ambulance crew arrived.
Rickenbach was found dead in the passenger seat with a gunshot wound to the torso. Yambo was taken to Reading Hospital for treatment.
An autopsy by Dr. Neil Hoffman, a forensic pathologist, determined Rickenbach died of a gunshot wound that pierced both lungs and his aorta. The death was ruled a homicide.
On May 11, two troopers interviewed a former friend of Hartsook's who had lived with Hartsook and his wife at the time of the New Morgan shooting.
The man said that while sharing a residence, he would help Hartsook steal catalytic converters.
He said Hartsook asked him one night in August to accompany him to an area in Morgantown, about 60 miles east of York, to scope out a potential target for such thefts.
He said they pulled into the concealed area. Hartsook got out of the van while the man remained in the van. The man said they saw vehicle headlights and got scared so he reclined his seat to conceal himself while pleading with Hartsook to leave.
A short time later he could see a flashlight being shone on him. Moments later, while still lying back, he heard four or five gunshots. Hartsook rapidly entered the van and drove in reverse for a distance before driving off and heading back to York.
