A Monessen teenager will be prosecuted as an adult for the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old friend in late 2022.
Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears, in a ruling made public on Wednesday, rejected defense calls to transfer the criminal homicide case against now 17-year-old Terry Newton to juvenile court.
In his ruling, the judge said Newton’s extensive criminal record as a juvenile and the impact of the Nov. 29, 2022 fatal shooting had on the community warranted the case to continue to be prosecuted in adult court.
Police claim Newton shot 16-year-old Amari Altomore one time in the abdomen while the teens played video games in the defendant’s bedroom in Monessen. Authorities said Newton, following the shooting, fled the scene and was on the run for three weeks before he was arrested.
According to court records, Newton claimed Altomore brandished a gun. The weapon discharged as the teens fought over the weapon, he said.
Investigators said the suspected murder weapon was never recovered.
Altomore, a junior at Monessen High School and a member of the school’s football team, was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital, where he died.
Evidence presented during a hearing late last year revealed Newton had been involved in the juvenile justice system since he was 13. According to court records, Newton previously was charged as a juvenile in connection with multiple fights, including one in which he was accused of kicking a teenage girl in the face and another in which authorities said he attacked at teacher in school.
“A person’s past performance can be a good predictor of future performance. If that is the case here, it would not bode well for the defendant. His involvement in the juvenile system for the past four years has not yielded positive results,” Mears wrote.
The judge noted that witnesses claimed the shooting resulted in a split among community members and said evidence indicated it was not in the public’s interest to transfer the case to juvenile court, where Newton could only remain in court custody and undergo court-mandated treatment until his 21st birthday.
Newton is in custody in a pod at the Lawrence County Jail for juvenile offenders charged with adult crimes.
A date for Newton’s trial has not been scheduled.
