The trial in the case of attempted murder has begun News, Sports, Work

HOLLYDAYSBURG. An Altoona man charged with attempted murder and related charges in a shooting that happened nearly two years ago in an alley behind the Kettle Inn is set to go on trial in Blair County court this week.

Jurors on Tuesday, the first day of the trial of Mark A. Phillips, 39, were shown surveillance video taken by Altoona police showing Phillips arguing with Michael T. Cowger of Altoona, who punched Phillips and knocked him to the ground. the land

Phillips is later accused of going to his car and pulling out a handgun, which he aimed and fired at the car with the driver and four passengers, including Cowger. And while the car was being pulled over, Phillips is accused of reaching through the back window of the car and using a gun to beat the passenger in the back seat.

First Assistant District Attorney Nicole Smith, who described the chain of events on Dec. 11, 2022, to jurors Tuesday in her opening statement, asked them to prosecute Phillips.

According to Smith, it went “from a one-punch fight to a near fatal outcome.”

Attorney Kristen Anastasi suggested during cross-examination of the police officer who found Phillips at home after the shooting that her client was cooperating with police.

Altoona Police Patrolman George Featherstone said Phillips told him the gun that was fired was on the kitchen counter.

Featherstone said he found the gun on the counter, and his examination of the firearm indicated that it had malfunctioned at some point, consistent with claims that Phillips tried to shoot the car again as the driver drove away, but his gun did not fire.

Altoona Police Officer Casey Winters told jurors he photographed damage to the vehicle caused by a bullet that went through the passenger side windshield and crossed the vehicle before exiting through the driver’s side window.

Showing the photo to the jury, Winters pointed to strands of hair sticking out of the bullet hole.

Smith told jurors in her opening that the hair belonged to the driver, who was lucky to be alive.

Among the witnesses on Tuesday was Cowger, who admitted to punching Phillips in the face because he used derogatory language when referring to a woman they both knew. According to court documents, Cowher pleaded guilty in April 2023 to common assault for a sentence with two years of probation.

An Altoona man who reported being hit with a gun said he remembers being hit once and then passed out. He said he had two blue eyes and a swollen lip, mouth and jaw.

When Anastasi asked the victim if he had told the police that he and his friends were drunk that night, the victim replied, “We drank.”

Testimony resumes today in the trial, which is expected to continue until Thursday with Presiding Judge Wade A. Kagarise presiding.

Mirror staff member Kay Stevens is at 814-946-7456.