Man guilty of manslaughter for shooting ’moocher’

INDIANA, Pa. (AP) — A western Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to shooting his longtime friend because the suspect was angry that the victim mooched food from the suspect’s mother.

Fifty-nine-year-old James Buterbaugh, of Marion Center, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter Monday and faces up to 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced by an Indiana County judge on Jan. 30.

Prosecutors say Buterbaugh and 51-year-old David Ackerson argued about two plates of food that Buterbaugh’s mother had given Ackerson on Memorial Day weekend. Both men had been drinking when Buterbaugh accused Ackerson of “mooching.”

After Buterbaugh left, Ackerson followed and caught up with Buterbaugh along a nearby gas well road, where Buterbaugh shot Ackerson.

Buterbaugh called 911 after Ackerson collapsed and later told state police how and why the shooting occurred.