Man sentenced for 2020 killing in Uniontown
The family of a man fatally shot in Uniontown nearly three years ago said that while they don’t agree with the plea bargain for the man who murdered William Lee Brown IV, they are now willing to accept it months after originally objecting to the deal.
Dayoge Oshay Bush mostly looked down during his sentencing hearing Wednesday as relatives of Brown reiterated that they were unhappy with his guilty plea to third-degree murder and 15- to- 30-year prison term negotiated as part of the deal.
However, unlike Bush’s original hearing on May 22, when Fayette County Judge Nancy D. Vernon delayed his sentencing over the family’s objections, Brown’s mother, Lakeesha Thomas, said they were ready to move forward and accept the deal.
“I’m not satisfied, but I understand it,” Thomas said said when asked by Vernon about the meetings she had with prosecutors. “Y’all explained it to me.”
Bush fired multiple gunshots into an SUV parked at Evans and Lincoln streets in the city on Oct. 10, 2020, killing Brown, who was a passenger in the vehicle. According to court documents, an argument preceded the shooting, and Brown was struck several times in vital organs. Brown, 27, of McKeesport, was driven to Uniontown Hospital in the SUV and then later flown by medical helicopter to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., where he died.
In addition to third-degree murder, Bush also pleaded guilty on April 17 to charges of possession of a prohibited firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, drug possession with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance and two counts of reckless endangerment.
Assistant District Attorney Rob Harper told Vernon on Wednesday that he “spoke to (Brown’s family) at length, multiple times” to explain the evidence they had against Bush and the reasons for agreeing to the plea deal. Still, the heartache of Brown’s death remained palpable as Thomas addressed the court during her victim impact statement.
“Oct. 10 changed my life, and for him to sit there with no remorse after taking my son’s life, he doesn’t deserve 15 to 30 (years), ” Thomas said. “He wrecked a lot of people’s worlds that day, and we can never move on. Never.”
Thomas then spoke directly to Bush and demanded that he look at her while she spoke to him. Bush, who looked down at the table in the courtroom most of the proceeding, raised his head up briefly while Thomas spoke to him as she promised that he’d see her face again at every parole hearing while he’s incarcerated.
After listening to Brown’s family speak, Vernon sentenced Bush to serve 15 to 30 years in state prison and pay $7,663 in restitution to Thomas for funeral expenses.
Bush, 26, of Uniontown, responded to Vernon’s questions with single-word answers, but said little else during the sentencing hearing and never offered a formal statement to Brown’s family.
Vernon directed Fayette County sheriff’s deputies to transport Bush to the state prison near Waynesburg, where he would be assessed by the state Department of Corrections to determine where he should serve the remainder of his sentence. Bush, who has been jailed since his arrest in May 2021, was given credit for time served.