Exeter Township Supervisor Chairman Robert Kile, right, is seen speaking during a meeting in a 2018 file photo. Kile, 57, was shot to death on Friday. Neighbor Peter Jonathan Gillis, 57, has been charged in Kile’s death.
Times Leader file photo
Robert Francis Kile Sr., 57, was also an assistant fire chief
Peter Jonathan Gillis, 57, is seen being led away from the state police barracks in Wyoming on Friday afternoon after being arraigned in connection with the shooting death of Robert Kile earlier Friday.
Pat Kernan | Times Leader
EXETER TWP. — Robert Francis Kile Sr. was remembered Friday as a leader and volunteer whose death will leave a painful void for his family and the community he served.
Kile, 57, an Exeter Township supervisor and second assistant chief at Mt. Zion Bicentennial Fire Co. in Harding, was fatally shot Friday morning.
Peter Jonathan Gillis, also 57 and a Harding resident, has been charged in Kile’s shooting death, in what investigators say is a dispute between the neighbors that turned violent.
Gillis has said the shooting was an act of self defense. State police say investigation revealed that Kile was unarmed and had his hands up when he was shot in the driveway of Gillis’ home on state Route 92 at about 9:15 a.m.
Community ‘at a loss’
Township Board of Supervisors Chairman Donald Kreseski released a statement Friday night about Kile’s death.
“The Exeter Township Board of Supervisors were saddened to hear of the passing of Supervisor Robert Kile Sr.,” Kreseski wrote.
“Mr. Kile had served our community in several capacities. In addition to serving with the ambulance and fire companies, he had served as a member of our board of supervisors for nearly five years, including two years as Chairman of the Board,” Kreseski added.
“Mr. Kile had worked diligently to serve the taxpayers of Exeter Township and would often be the first to voice his thoughts and concerns regarding matters before the board. The community will be at a loss without Mr. Kile’s dedication to our local volunteer organizations,” he wrote.
“The Board of Supervisors extends our deepest sympathies to the family of Mr. Kile.”
‘Our hearts are broken’
Mt. Zion Bicentennial Fire Co., posted a memorial message on its Facebook page Friday afternoon.
“Our hearts are broken. Please keep our family, especially the Kile family in your prayers,” the post read.
“What more can be said about such a loving, dedicated man,” a later post added.
“As a father, grandfather, husband. Santa Claus, one of our assistant chiefs, assistant commander of the Harding-Mt Zion Ambulance, Franklin Township Fire Chief, and Exeter Township Supervisor, he dedicated his life to serving others.”
“Bob, you are loved. You are missed,” the post added. “Rest easy, now.”
Other departments, including the West Hazleton Fire Department, also posted condolence messages.
“West Hazleton Fire Department sends its condolences to Mt. Zion Bicentennial Fire Company on the loss of their Deputy Chief. His work in his community, and Luzerne County has helped countless people in their time of need,” the post said.
“For those of us who knew him, our hearts will weigh with sadness at the loss of such a fine, kind, and caring individual.”
“Rest Easy Chief,” it concluded. “We’ll Take It From Here.”
Investigation
Gillis offered a brief explanation to reporters as he was being led to a police car following a video arraignment on Friday afternoon.
“I was trying to protect myself, this guy attacked me in my yard,” Gillis said outside the Pennsylvania State Police barracks at Wyoming.
Gillis has been charged with one count each of criminal homicide and recklessly endangering another person — the latter because a passing motorist was in the line of fire when the fatal shots rang out.
According to a state police affidavit:
Exeter Township Police Chief William Knowles arrived at the scene at 9:17 a.m. and observed a deceased male in the driveway.
Knowles observed Gillis in the front yard. He “was taken into custody without incident for safety reasons,” and found to be unarmed. Gillis then told Knowles where he had placed a .223 caliber rifle used in the incident and it was retrieved by police. Several spent casings were observed in the front yard.
While being held in a police vehicle, Gillis “made several excited utterances regarding the incident,” the affidavit states, including allegedly telling the chief “He wouldn’t leave, I had to shoot him.”
“The preliminary details were that this was a neighbor dispute which resulted in a shooting occurring at the location,” the affidavit states.
The nature of that dispute was not revealed.
Knowles and Exeter Township Police Corporal Charles Neff positively identified Kile as the victim. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Luzerne County Coroner Francis Hacken.
No firearms were found on or near Kile’s body. A folded pocket knife was found in his right front pocket.
Witnesses who were traveling northbound on Route 92 at the time of the shooting were interviewed by police, saying they saw the victim standing in the driveway with his hands up.
One witness saw a male shoot the victim multiple times but continued to travel northbound. After a short pause, the witness heard a second round of shots.
The witness told police that they and a companion were in the line of fire when the shooting started.
They also observed a gray pickup truck with a log-splitter parked at the scene at the time of the shooting.
Police obtained a search warrant to view surveillance video from the Gillis home. It showed Gillis backing his van into the driveway.
“A short time later Gillis is then observed firing a rifle multiple times followed by a second burst of gunfire,” the affidavit states.
Witness interviews revealed Kile drove the gray pickup truck and log-splitter to the scene. Investigation discovered bullet holes on the passenger side of the vehicle.
It was searched by a state police forensic unit and no firearms or weapons were located.
Gillis was committed to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility without bail to await further proceedings.
