Richland Township Police have arrested a W. Rockhill Township man on homicide charges after an alleged execution-style killing just outside Quakertown Friday night.   

        Nicholas C. Kovatto, 37, of the 1000 block of Bean Road, was arraigned by District Judge Daniel J. Finello Jr. of Warminster during the early morning hours of Saturday on a criminal homicide charge.  Finello remanded him to Bucks County Correctional Facility without bail.

        According to a criminal complaint in the case, Kovatto and a Richland Township man were at the man's home in the 100 block of Richlandtown Pike around 6:30 p.m., outside a shed, when a car pulled up in the driveway.  The property owner, who believed his girlfriend arrived, went outside but found it was instead a man identified as Eric R. Kramer, 32, no fixed address.

        After announcing out loud that Kramer was there, police said the Richland Township resident went back inside the shed.  Police said Kovatto left the shed and was immediately involved in a physical fight with Kramer.  According to court documents, the property owner heard three loud bangs and turned around to see Kovatto standing over Kramer with a gun pointed down at him. 

        Police said the man saw Kovatto fire one shot into Kramer's head.  He then reportedly fled the scene and made several calls for help and for "transportation out of the area," police said.

        Authorities found Kovatto sitting at a bar inside a small red outbuilding at the rear of the property, according to court papers.  Police said he asked them why they were at the property and immediately became uncooperative and was detained while they investigated.

        Police said they eventually found Kramer, dead, between two parked vehicles in the driveway.  They said he was shot in the forehead, through a baseball hat he was wearing.

        According to court records, Kovatto was charged with kidnapping for ransom, kidnapping to inflict injury/terror, aggravated assault, burglary and related offenses in Jan. 2003 after an incident in Allentown.  He spent a year in state prison in 2004 into 2005 after being found guilty of two counts of attempted burglary, possession of an instrument of crime, conspiracy to commit burglary and aggravated assault and loitering and prowling at night.

        He was reportedly paroled in Sept. 2005.

        Kovatto is scheduled to appear in Quakertown District Court Dec. 3 at 1:30 p.m. for a preliminary hearing in front of Judge C. Robert Roth.