Northumberland man not guilty in attempted homicide case

Francis Scarcella, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
·2 min read

Mar. 17—SUNBURY — Denarii Springs was found not guilty of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and related charges by a Northumberland County jury on Friday.

Springs, of Northumberland, spent the last two days in court proclaiming his innocence after Sunbury police charged the 24-year-old with attempted homicide stemming from a 2020 incident on North Seventh Street.

Springs, who only took notes and spoke with his defense attorney, Brian Ulmer, of Lewisburg, listened carefully as the jury returned after about an hour of deliberations Friday with not guilty verdicts to all of the criminal charges.

Springs breathed a sigh of relief after the verdict when he was able to hug his friends and family who were in attendance. He declined to comment on the case.

City police had alleged that Springs arrived at a home on North Seventh Street on June 15, 2020, and fired a shot at the house, causing a window to smash and narrowly missing people inside.

Sunbury Police Department officers testified during the two-day trial. However, state police forensic witnesses said they could not match any DNA from Springs to a bullet located at the scene or find any other evidence that clearly showed Springs had fired the weapon.

One of the alleged victims, Anthony Moultrie, was called to the witness stand by the prosecution Thursday, but refused to implicate Springs.

Northumberland County First Assistant District Attorney Robyn Zenzinger, who prosecuted the case for the commonwealth, then asked Judge Hugh Jones to declare Moultrie as a hostile witness.

"Can you identify the defendant in the courtroom today," Zenzinger asked Moultrie.

"No I can not," he said.

Zenzinger again asked Moultrie the same question.

"No I can not," he replied before telling Jones he would not be answering any questions.

Jones cleared the courtroom and when the jury and public were allowed to return, Moultrie was gone.

Ulmer said he is happy for his client and was proud of the jury.

"We respect the decisions they made," he said after trial ended.