GUILTY PA - Julius Dale, 26, shot to death, Sadsbury Township, 27 May 2016

Lucas Newman threatened to shoot Julius Dale III on May 27 at a Sadsbury Township home, and, moments later, he did just that.

That’s according to a state police trooper who testified during a preliminary hearing in Intercourse today...

District Judge Raymond Sheller ruled that enough evidence was presented to support the charge being tried in Lancaster County Court.

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A Lancaster County jury today convicted Sadsbury Township meth dealer Lucas Newnam of first-degree murder, rejecting his claim that he shot and killed his roommate in self-defense.

"My son can now rest in peace, but we’ll never get him back," said Natalie Dale of Downingtown, the victim's mother.

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Newnam on the witness stand said he fired the sawed-off shotgun out of fear that Dale was about to pull a handgun on him.

But a witness told the jury Dale was not acting in a threatening manner and was not reaching for his gun when Newnam wheeled around and blasted him from a few feet away.

State police said they found Dale's handgun where he fell. It was snapped securely into a clip-on holster.

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A Lancaster County judge called convicted murderer Lucas Newnam a remorseless liar whose trial testimony was “dripping with arrogance” before he sentenced him Wednesday to a mandatory term of life in prison.

“You thought you could outsmart the police. ... You thought you could outsmart the jury,” Judge Donald Totaro told Newnam. “You were wrong.”

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Five members of Dale’s family described from the witness stand Wednesday how the killing impacted their lives. Some were tearful, others angry as they addressed Newnam, wearing drab green togs and standing handcuffed before the judge.

“The day you killed my son, my life as I knew it was over,” said Natalie Dale, the victim’s mother. “I cry every day. I never knew I could cry so many tears.”

Shanna Dale, 32, one of the victim’s sisters, said, “You make me sick. I hate that your face was the last face he saw.”

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