Jul 3, 2024 By Mike Jones 2 min read

A Monessen teen responsible for the shooting death of a friend in November 2022 was sentenced to prison Monday following his guilty plea to lesser charges earlier this year.

Terry Newton, 17, appeared in Westmoreland County Court and was sentenced by Judge Scott Mears to serve eight to 25 years in state prison in connection with the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Amari Altomore nearly two years ago.

Newton pleaded guilty April 15 to a felony charge of voluntary manslaughter and one misdemeanor count of possession of a firearm by a minor in exchange for prosecutors to drop a criminal homicide charge against him.

Altomore was shot Nov. 29, 2022, while apparently playing video games with Newton in the defendant’s upstairs bedroom at his home in the 600 block of 14th Street in Monessen. Altomore left the home and was found lying on the porch of a house on nearby Reservoir Avenue before being taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he died the following day.

Newton ran from the house and was not seen for more than three weeks until he turned himself into authorities. His defense previously claimed Newton and Altomore were friends, and that the shooting was an accident.

Court records indicate Newton has been held at the Lawrence County Prison since his arrest in December 2022. Newton will serve a year on probation after his release from prison. His defense attorney, Kenneth Noga, did not respond to a phone message seeking comment Tuesday.

Assistant District Attorney Katie Ranker prosecuted the case, which was investigated by Monessen police, Westmoreland County detectives and Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputies.