Alleged Juggalos to Face Trial in Fatal Beating

When Anthony 'Tony' Locascio spoke to police about a vandalized car, he broke a code held by the Juggalos, the devoted followers of metal hip hop outfit Insane Clown Posse, and he paid for his indiscretion with his life. That, according to a Pennsylvania state trooper who testified last week in the ongoing homicide trial of four men, all of them Juggalos, who stand accused of beating Locascio.

Police say Locascio was left in a remote area of Schuylkill County in Pennsylvania, wearing only boxer shorts. He was beaten and bloodied with metal baseball bats, after being dubbed a snitch and violating a principle shared by him and his friends.

"Tony was viewed as no longer being in the Insane Clown Posse family, a family of brotherhood," Officer Eric Schaeffer testified. "Since Tony became a snitch and showed loyalty to someone outside the group, he was no longer part of the group."

Schaeffer's testimony inspired District Judge Anthony J. Kilker to make the determination that all four men -- Shane Roof, 20; Andrew Tutko II, 19; Jeffrey Allen Gombert, 19; and Curtis Todd Foose, 25 -- must stand trial on homicide, conspiracy and other charges. Meanwhile, the defense in the case argued the prosecution had not presented enough evidence to send all charges to county court.

The four men were arrested back in Sept. 17, three days after the attack, and admitted their involvement to police soon after being caught. Other officers testified the four men wanted to beat up Locascio, take off his clothes and let him walk back home, as a way to humiliate and teach him a lesson for talking to the police.

After luring him to a remote area with marijuana, the four men attacked Locascio with bats. He fell to the ground, in a fetal position, and started saying, "I'm sorry," and admitted he was a snitch. Police estimate Locascio was hit up to 80 times, and he later died from a fractured skull and suffered other critical injuries to his torso, arms and legs.

According to testimony, one of the men was later see cleaning the bats used in the attack with bleach. A start date for the trial has yet to be determined.