INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA: A Pennsylvania man in his early 40s was arrested this week for allegedly killing his 44-year-old employer, shooting and killing the other man inside a pickup truck with a shotgun, smothering the remains with clothes and tools before dumping the body on the side of the road after returning home from a drive to Maryland with his girlfriend and child.
Justin Allen Green, 41, was taken into custody on Wednesday, July 19, along with his girlfriend. According to a criminal complaint obtained by Altoona, Pennsylvania, CBS affiliate WTAJ-TV, the victim Daryl Vincent Lee, was found lying face down in the early morning hours of Friday, July 14, on the side of Route 403 in East Wheatfield Township.
Who is Justin Allen Green?
Following his arrest, Justin Allen Green was charged with one count of criminal homicide and one count of robbery and for inflicting serious bodily injury in the slaying of Daryl Vincent Lee. His girlfriend, Brooke Ashley Pullin, 30, was also arrested and records show she is facing charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, false identification to law enforcement, and receiving stolen property.
Lee’s manner of death was declared a homicide by a subsequent autopsy and the cause of death was two gunshot wounds. In the report, Pennsylvania State Troopers reportedly noted that a “multi-colored hair” was found on the collar of Lee’s shirt.
Green and Pullin are both currently being held in Cambria County Prison. Green was denied bond while Pullin’s bond was set at $150,000. Both of them are scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on August 2.
Why was Daryl Vincent Lee killed?
Investigators reportedly say in the criminal complaint that Lee owned and operated his own landscaping and lawn care business. According to The Tribune-Democrat, the victim told someone that he was scheduled to work three lawn care jobs on the day before his corpse was recovered and that a man named “Bam”, later identified as Green would be aiding him.
Lee and Green were driving to collect payment from a customer after finishing their work when the latter allegedly shot Lee with a 12-gauge shotgun he’d previously bought at a yard sale. At the time of the shooting, the victim was reportedly sitting in the passenger seat of Green’s Toyota Tundra pickup truck.
According to the state troopers, “physical evidence” and “surveillance video” from the area around Lee’s home led authorities to interrogate Green and Pullin about his death.
What did Green claim?
Green allegedly claimed when questioned that after working with Lee on Thursday, July 18, he dropped the other man off at home later in the afternoon and that was the final time he saw Lee. Investigators obtained a search warrant for the pickup truck where they apparently found two shotgun shells from the center console, several multi-colored hair, and multiple areas with blood splattered around.
Green allegedly admitted to shooting Lee while they were driving on Franklin Street in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in a second interview with investigators. The complaint states that the victim died immediately. Green allegedly claimed that he kept Lee in the passenger seat of the car following the shooting and covered the body with a shirt and some tools, then picked up Pullin and their child to “take a road trip to Maryland.”
Green then went on to claim that Lee’s body stayed in the passenger seat during the trip and that Pullin had no idea that there was a dead body in the car. Green said he tossed the murder weapon into the Potomac River during the alleged road trip. He reportedly said that they returned from the trip late Thursday night and he then went back out and dumped Lee’s body on the side of the road.
