Teen appeals sentence for classmate’s fatal shooting
Terry Newton’s appeal claims his sentence of at least eight years in prison is an “abuse of discretion.”
Terry Newton’s appeal claims his sentence of at least eight years in prison is an “abuse of discretion.”
A Monessen teen convicted in the killing of a 16-year-old classmate in 2022 claims in an appeal filed Monday that a Westmoreland County judge abused his discretion when he imposed a maximum 25year prison sentence.
Terry Newton, 18, was ordered in July to serve at least eight years in prison for the Nov. 29, 2022, shooting of Amari Altomore, who died after being shot one time in the abdomen during an altercation that occurred as the teens played video games in the bedroom of Newton’s South 14th Street home.
Newton pleaded guilty in April to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter.
“The court’s sentence … was itself an abuse of discretion as the court gave inappropriate weight to the nature of the crime, naively the death of another child in a shooting incident and the impact that (it) had on the victim’s family…,” wrote defense attorney Ken Noga in his appeal of the sentence.
Noga said Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears improperly considered those factors in addition to state guidelines based on the nature of the crime and victim impact.
The judge, Noga said, failed to consider mitigating factors such as Newton’s age at the time of the shooting, various childhood difficulties and the impact of the crime on the defendant.
Following a sentencing hearing last month, the judge ordered Newton to serve 7 1/2 to 20 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter and a consecutive term of six months to five years for illegal possession of a firearm. Newton was originally charged with first-degree murder and, if convicted of that offense, faced at least 30 years in prison as a potential sentence.
Prosecutors said Newton was 16 at the time of the shooting. He turned 18 earlier this month and was prosecuted as an adult.
According to court records, Newton claimed Altomore, a junior at Monessen High School and a member of the school’s football team, initially brandished a gun and that it accidentally discharged as the teens fought over the weapon.
Police said Newton fled the shooting scene and was on the run for three weeks before he was arrested and charged with Altomore’s killing.
The weapon used in the shooting was never recovered.
