Eastern Montco Shooter Case Going To Trial

EASTERN MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA —The case of a Horsham man charged in the fatal shooting of a Hatboro man following a dispute last month is moving forward.

Maurice Byrd, 41, of Horsham, will be arraigned in Montgomery County Court in August following his preliminary hearing before Hatboro-Horsham District Justice Todd Stevens last week.

Byrd is charged with first-degree murder and other offenses in the shooting death of Stephen Strassburg, 37, of Hatboro, authorities said.

The two had disputes that police were aware of for two years, police said.

Attorneys for Byrd during the preliminary hearing asked Stevens to dismiss the first-degree murder charges.

“This is a self-defense case,” public defender James Lyons said at the preliminary hearing for Byrd, 41, on Thursday, the Bucks County Courier Times reported.

Montgomery County prosecutor Samantha Cauffman countered that evidence shows that Byrd threatened to shoot the unarmed victim before dialing 911 to report Strassburg “verbally assaulted” him., the newspaper said.

The Hatboro Police Department was aware of the disputes between Byrd —who owned Razor Reese’s Salon and Spa on 226 N. York Rd. —and Strassburg, who lived in an apartment above the business.

Since December 2022, Hatboro Police responded to the business on three separate occasions for verbal disputes between the two men, giving them verbal warnings each time and telling both to avoid each other.

The shooting happened after Byrd told 911 dispatchers that he was being called the "N-word" and shot Strassburg while on the phone with them.

Strassburg died of gunshot wounds to the face, clavicle, and back at Abington Hospital.