CLARION — Clarion County prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a Parker man accused of fatally shooting another man in April along a rural Perry Township road.

Anthony Back, 46, of Parker was shot during a squabble over drugs and that's why alleged killer Jesse McFadden should face death if he is convicted of first-degree murder, said District Attorney Mark Aaron.

But Brian Manchester, the Bellefonte attorney for McFadden, 20, dismissed the prosecution's decision as a legal ploy.

"They're looking for leverage to make a deal," he said. "The facts don't justify this being a capital case. They want first-degree (murder) for this? That's a bunch of crap."

Aaron announced his intention to seek the death penalty during arraignment court Wednesday before Clarion County Judge James Arner.

McFadden, however, a month earlier had waived his arraignment and pleaded not guilty to charges of homicide, conspiracy, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and simple assault.

He is being held in the Clarion County Jail without bond.

Manchester claimed he was somewhat blindsided by news that Aaron would seek the death penalty in the case.

"(Aaron) didn't bother telling me what he was going to do," Manchester said. "The last time I talked to him he said he hadn't made up his mind."

Still, he poked fun at Aaron's decision: "They're going to have to come up with something pretty good to make that one."

Aaron was guarded in discussing his decision.

"We're seeking the death penalty because this homicide was the result of drug trafficking," he said. "I'm not going to disclose anything further."

An aggravating circumstance, such as drug dealing at the time of a slaying, must be identified in first-degree murder cases before the death penalty can be sought.

Death or life in prison without parole is the only possible punishment for first-degree murder.

Turkey hunters on April 9 stumbled upon Back's body on the side of Pickard Valley Road in the section of Perry Township known as Dutch Hill.

An autopsy determined Back died of a single gunshot wound to the face. There was no sign of struggle or other trauma on the body, which was not far from his pickup.

Despite no gun being found near the body and no indication that Back was depressed in the final days of his life, Allegheny County coroner and forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht initially suggested the case was a suicide.

State police and prosecutors, however, continued the investigation that led to McFadden's arrest four months later.

McFadden allegedly confessed to killing Back, an unemployed heavy equipment operator, with a .22-caliber rifle, according to court documents.

He told investigators he was with another man, Bill Ridenbaugh, 46, of Parker, when they confronted Back on the road late on the night of April 8.

Ridenbaugh at McFadden's preliminary hearing last month testified the shooting followed an argument between McFadden and Back over drugs.

Aaron and police said the drugs were pills, but have declined to divulge any more information about the pills.

McFadden, in his alleged confession, claimed Ridenbaugh, during the altercation between McFadden and Back, told the defendant to get a gun and shoot Back.

While Back went back to his truck, McFadden went to his vehicle and retrieved a rifle, according to testimony at the hearing.

The defendant, in his statement to police, claimed he believed Back was holding some sort of weapon as he returned from his truck.

McFadden, rifle in hand, fired two shots; the first missed, but the second shot hit Back, who was knocked to the ground, documents said.

Ridenbaugh faces several unrelated drug-related cases in Clarion County Court; but he has

yet

to be charged in connection with Back's death.

That will soon change, Aaron said: "(Ridenbaugh) is to be charged shortly as a co-conspirator (with McFadden), but those charges have not been finalized."

Manchester, meanwhile, insisted his client "didn't do it," and referred to the prosecution's potential witnesses at trial as "seedy."

He would not speculate on his defense strategy.

"I got an idea, but it's not set in stone," Manchester said. "It's a general plan that certainly can evolve as we get closer to trial."

The last capital case in Clarion County came in 1998 when two Kentucky men were charged in the shooting death of 54-year-old millionaire cattle rancher Jack Fuellhart.

David Fuellhart, the victim's nephew, and Jamie Lee Menefee both went to trial for killing the elder Fuellhart on his ranch in northern Clarion County.

Ironically, Aaron, then a public defender, represented David Fuellhart, who was convicted of second-degree murder.

A separate jury convicted Menefee of theft, but acquitted him of murder and robbery.

The verdicts made the death penalty moot against both defendants.

David Fuellhart was sentenced to life in prison; Menefee was sentenced to 2½ to 5 years in state prison.