Connellsville teen pleads guilty for role in New Kensington fatal shooting and later assault of a shelter worker

A Connellsville teen pleaded guilty Wednesday in juvenile court to his role in the July 2022 fatal shooting of a man in New Kensington.

Braedon M. Dickinson, 16, was one of seven suspects charged with the killing of 39-year-old Jason Raiford in front of the Valley Royal Court Apartments.

Dickinson also pleaded guilty to charges he assaulted a juvenile shelter worker in December and stole a truck when he fled from the facility two days later.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Michele Bononi said Dickinson’s case will be transferred to Fayette County this month where he will be sentenced by a juvenile court judge.

Because he is a juvenile, Dickinson can’t be held in custody beyond his 21st birthday.

Had he been prosecuted as an adult, he faced up to 40 years in prison if convicted of third-degree murder.

“You’ve been given the break of a lifetime here because you’re still in juvenile court,” Bononi said.

Bononi last week rejected a prosecution request to allow Dickinson’s case be transferred back to adult court, where it was originally filed days after he and six others were arrested in connection with Raiford’s killing.

Dickinson’s prosecution was moved to juvenile court last spring after a failed suicide attempt while he was in custody in the juvenile detention center program at the Regional Youth Services Center.

Dickinson, according to police, was among the teens who surrounded Raiford in the lobby of the New Kensington apartment building as part of a revenge plot over a drug debt. Witnesses said the group that included an armed Dickinson, attacked Raiford, who was later gunned down outside the building.

Dickinson was charged as an accomplice and did not fire the shots that killed Raiford, Assistant District Attorney Leo Ciaramitaro said.

Dickinson also pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault in connection to an incident in December at the nonsecure juvenile shelter facility at the Regional Youth Services Center.

Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Brenner said Dickinson punched a female shelter staffer at least four times after he was disciplined in the facility Dec. 7. The worker suffered a concussion and potentially a broken jaw, she said.

Prosecutors said Dickinson and another teen fled the shelter Dec. 9, stole a truck and drove to Fayette County. A .45-caliber handgun was in the vehicle at the time and the weapon was later discarded by Dickinson, state police Trooper Steve Dubich testified.

In that case, Dickinson pleaded guilty to multiple counts of theft, escape and weapons offenses.

Westmoreland County officials closed the juvenile detention center in June following a state inspection that was critical of training and staffing levels. It reopened on a limited basis in December to house Dickinson after he was returned to custody following his escape. Bononi said Dickinson will be transferred to Fayette County custody as early as Thursday.

Meanwhile, three others prosecuted as adults in connection with Raiford’s killing are expected to plead guilty to reduced charges in the coming days: Avian Molter, 16, of Pittsburgh; Jonathan Felder, 19, of Arnold; and Raquan Carpenter, 20, of Pittsburgh.

A Westmoreland County jury, following a weeklong trial in December, convicted Amir Kennedy, 16, of New Kensington of being the person who fired the fatal shots. He was found guilty of first-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy charges.

Elijah Gary, 20, of New Kensington and DaMontae Brooks, 17, of New Kensington were convicted of robbery and conspiracy charges. They were found not guilty in Raiford’s killing.

Kennedy, Gary and Brooks are scheduled to be sentenced this month.