Suspect in Monessen shooting arrested
The suspect in the shooting death of a Monessen teenager last month is currently in custody.
According to court records, Terry Newton, 16, of Monessen, was arraigned Wednesday night before District Judge Charles Conway, who sent him to the Westmoreland County jail without bond.
The office of Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli issued a news release Thursday confirming the arrest, stating that investigators, “have been relentless in their search for Newton.” According to the release, Newton surrendered to authorities Wednesday.
“I am extremely thankful no one was hurt in the pursuit for Newton, and I applaud the unwavering efforts by sheriff’s deputies to get Newton into police custody,” Ziccarelli said in the release.
County detectives allege that Newton shot Amari Altomore at Newton’s home on Nov. 29. Altomore died the next day at Allegheny General Hospital.
Altomore was a junior at Monessen High School and a member of the football team.
Newton is being charged as an adult in the case, and faces both a homicide charge and a misdemeanor of possession of a firearm by a minor.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to Newton’s home in the 600 block of 14th Street shortly after 8 p.m. the night of the shooting. Police found Altomore lying on the porch of a home on Reservoir Avenue, just across the street from Newton’s residence.
On Dec. 2, Tanieshia Thompson, Newton’s mother, told police the two teenagers had been playing video games upstairs before the shooting. According to the complaint, Thompson then heard them making noise before hearing a “pop.”
According to the complaint, Newton came down the stairs yelling that Altomore had been hit. Altomore came next, and Thompson told police she saw that he had been shot.
Surveillance footage showed Newton fleeing out of the rear of the home.
Newton is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing 10 a.m. Dec. 30.