Man gets life in 2017 killing of Penn Hills man; judge delays sentencing of accomplice

An Allegheny County judge on Wednesday delayed sentencing one of two brothers convicted in the 2017 shooting death of a Penn Hills man.

Prosecutors had described Donald King, 36, of Stowe, as the ringleader who targeted the victim and then pulled the trigger. A jury in December found him guilty of first-degree murder.

The same jury found his younger brother, Devante King, 29, of Wilkinsburg, guilty of second-degree murder for going along with the plan to attack and rob Kevin Trowery, 54, at his home on the night of Aug. 6, 2017.

In Pennsylvania, a jury can find a suspect guilty of second-degree murder when a person dies during the commission of another felony — even if the suspect wasn’t directly responsible for that person’s death. Under state law, first- and second-degree murder both carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

In recent years, there has been debate over whether the sentence for second-degree murder is appropriate when a defendant wasn’t personally responsible for a person’s death. The state Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case on the issue next month.

At the brothers’ sentencing hearing Wednesday, Devante King’s attorney Carmen Robinson asked Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani to consider her argument that a sentence of life without parole for her client should be considered cruel and unusual punishment under the Pennsylvania Constitution and, therefore, illegal.

“Life without parole is too severe,” attorney Carmen Robinson argued. “It treats both defendants the same without any discernment or understanding that their actions were different.”

She called the sentence disproportionate to what her client did.

Mariani, who called Devante King’s conduct “despicable,” was open to Robinson’s point.

“You have raised an issue of arguable merit, and it deserves fair consideration,” the judge said.

Instead of sentencing Devante King to the mandatory penalty of life without parole, Mariani asked both the prosecution and defense to write briefs on the issue. He rescheduled Devante King’s sentencing for May 26.

Investigators said that the King brothers and a third co-defendant, Dustin Taylor, targeted Trowery to rob him.

On the night of the robbery, they hid in a neighbor’s yard, surveilled Trowery’s property and then waited for him to come outside. When he did, the men approached. All three men were wearing masks, and the King brothers both had guns. Donald King fired a shot that struck Trowery in the leg and then, during a struggle, Donald King fired twice more, killing Trowery.

The three men dragged Trowery’s body inside the house. A short time later, they emerged from the house carrying a garbage bag of cash and fled.

Donald King was caught by police a short time later, hiding in woods nearby. Devante King and Taylor were arrested days later.

The crime was captured on Trowery’s high-definition video surveillance system, and Taylor testified against the two brothers. Taylor, in exchange for his testimony, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and was given a prison term of 12-1/2 to 25 years, which Robinson called “a ridiculous deal.”

The jury deliberated for about four hours before reaching its verdict on the Kings.

Robinson told Mariani that her client was never given the option of taking a plea agreement from the prosecution.

She also asked Mariani not to give her client additional, consecutive prison time for the burglary and robbery counts against him. If, in the future, life without parole is abolished for second-degree murder in Pennsylvania, he could have a chance at getting out of prison, she said.

She told the court her client had no prior criminal record, had sole custody of his two sons prior to his arrest and has a degree in criminal justice.

Attorney Lee Rothman, who represented Donald King, also argued against additional, consecutive time for his client on the robbery and burglary counts.

Life without parole “means you will die in prison,” Rothman said, adding that consecutive time has no legal meaning and is a “legal fiction.”

Mariani disagreed, saying that if a homicide conviction is reversed, penalties for other, associated crimes could stand.

In handing down Donald King’s punishment, Mariani said he felt that each action taken by the defendant on the night of the shooting should be punished.

“The evidence, in my view, is substantial that a life sentence is appropriate,” the judge told Donald King. “Each one of those crimes you committed, you had to think about.”

Mariani sentenced Donald King to life without parole on the murder count, and an additional 31 to 62 years to run consecutively.

Mariani noted that Donald King was charged in 2013 with burglary and firearm counts, for which he received probation. Then, in 2015, he was charged with simple assault, conspiracy and a probation violation. A month before killing Trowery, Donald King was again sentenced only to probation.

Mariani said it was clear that even with a second and third chance, the defendant didn’t learn his lesson and the public should be protected.

“This isn’t vengeance for the sake of vengeance,” the judge said.