York City man admits to deadly shooting, claims self-defense

• Andrew Holloway Jr. shot and killed Davonne Swan June 16, then threw his gun off a bridge, according to police.
• A city detective testified Thursday that Holloway turned himself in to police and admitted to shooting Swan, but said he did so in self defense.

According to testimony given Thursday by the York City Police detective in charge of the investigation, Andrew Gene Holloway Jr., 29, admitted to shooting and killing Davonne Swan, 27, the evening of June 16 in York City, but he said he did so in self-defense.

Holloway is charged with criminal homicide, possession of a firearm by a person prohibited and carrying a concealed firearm without a permit. He is being held in York County Prison without bond.

Detective Travis Sowers was the only witness called in a preliminary hearing attended by a handful of family members and supporters of both the victim and the accused.

The presiding judge, District Judge Ronald J. Haskell, had the proceeding moved from his office on South George Street to the judicial center downtown. He said Sowers requested the move out of an abundance of caution.

"We do that usually when there is a safety issue. We were expecting a lot more people to show up," Haskell said.

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The shooting: Sowers testified that about 6:15 p.m. on the night of the incident, security camera footage from the Wingate Village at York captured what happened near South Court and East Maple streets. On the video, Sowers said, Swan, who lived in East Manchester Township, is seen approaching Holloway. As Swan draws nearer, Holloway is seen pulling a handgun from his front pants pocket and firing several shots at him.

"He was shot seven times. Four times in the torso, and once in the arm, leg and stomach," Sowers testified.

Eight 9 mm shell casings were found at the scene, but a gun was never recovered. Holloway turned himself in to police June 20 and confessed to the killing but said he fired in self-defense, according to Sowers' testimony.

Arrest made in York City homicide

Haskell stopped the line of questioning for a moment and asked, "out of curiosity," whether Holloway ever told police what he did with the gun.

Sowers said he was told the gun had been thrown off a bridge in the area of College Avenue.

"Detectives searched the area, but nothing was found," he said.

The state had no other witnesses to call, and the defense declined to call any, leaving Haskell to decide to bind the case over for court and schedule a formal arraignment for 9 a.m. Sept. 2.

— Reach John Joyce at jjoyce2@yorkdispatch.comor on Twitter at @JohnJoyceYD.