Tucker Richard
MAYVILLE – Jury selection for an Ellicott resident who was accused of killing his stepfather is scheduled to begin today.
Last week, a judge in the Appellate Division put a stay on the trial of Hadi Matar, who was accused of stabbing award-winning novelist Salman Rushdie in August, 2022 while at Chautauqua Institution.
With that delay, the court has moved up the trial of Tucker Richard who has been charged with second-degree murder, to today, Oct. 15.
On Jan. 6, 2023, Richard, who was 18 at the time, allegedly shot and killed 57-year-old Scott Blake, whom Richard lived with at 2256 Willard St. Ext. in the town of Ellicott, not far from the Jamestown city line.
During a preliminary hearing last year, it was stated that the two had regularly argued, and officers had been at the residence multiple times in the past. At least once Richard had been arrested, although no details were shared about the nature of the previous charges.
At that hearing, Det. Kevin Pierce with the Ellicott Police Department said Richard told him that Blake had kicked in the door to his bedroom hours earlier and, during an altercation over a messy bedroom, struck him with an unloaded sawed-off shotgun. The gun reportedly fell apart afterward, at which time Blake reportedly went downstairs and was followed by Richard.
The suspect told Pierce that his stepfather retrieved another shotgun. While wrestling the gun away, Richard first claimed that it went off, striking Blake in the head. However, Pierce said Richard later changed his account, stating that he grabbed the weapon from Blake and, fearing that his stepfather would get another gun, “pulled the trigger on instinct.”
It was stated during the preliminary hearing that Richard was the individual who called 911 following the altercation. No one else was home at the time of the shooting.
Richard is being represented by Public Defender Nathan Barone. Schmidt is serving as lead prosecutor.
This trial has been delayed twice.
Originally the trial was going to take place in March, but the defense requested and was approved of a delay due to a late lab report.
Then the trial was set to take place in August, however it was again delayed after the defense argued that they received “late discovery” from the prosecution.