Latrobe woman arrested in 2023 Freight Station bar homicide

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – An arrest was made Wednesday in the February 2023 homicide death of Lance Ross, 65, of Johnstown, owner of the Freight Station bar.

Tami Shafer, 53, of Latrobe, was apprehended in Westmoreland County after a complaint was filed by the Johnstown Police Department. Shafer faces charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and tampering with/fabricating physical evidence.

"Anytime you have a homicide case, sometimes they're simple cases, sometimes they're a little more complex," Cambria County District Attorney Greg Neugebauer said. "In this matter, it took some time to ensure that we had the proper puzzle pieces and that those pieces all led to the conclusion of charges being filed."

Ross was found alive but injured inside the Freight Station, 20 Matthew St., downtown Johnstown.

He later died at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center.

Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees determined the cause to be multiple blunt-force trauma injuries that were consistent with an assault.

An investigation has been ongoing for more than a year and a half.

"Lance's family has been in contact with investigators in the DA's office since this occurred," Neugebauer said. "We are grateful that we are able to take the first step in providing justice for them and hopefully in the end getting them some kind of closure."

Dave Sutor is a reporter for The Tribune- Democrat.