East Deer man admits to killing father in Harmar, gets 10 to 20 years in prison

An East Deer man will serve at least 10 years in state prison after pleading guilty Monday to killing his father last year.

Shane Howard, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter in the Feb. 26, 2020, shooting of David Howard, 47, of Harmar.

A criminal complaint filed in the case said Shane Howard killed his father after the man criticized his girlfriend and their baby.

Police said Howard had gone to his father’s home the evening before after he had an argument with his girlfriend.

The two men began fighting.

They drank beer, and that appeared to calm the situation, the complaint said. But then, as Howard called his girlfriend on the phone to apologize, David Howard listened.

The two men began to fight again.

Shane Howard told police he struck his father in the face and head with a fire extinguisher before he picked up a shotgun. He said he then approached his father and put the gun to the back of his father’s head and it went off.

Police said Howard called and asked a friend to pick him up, and Howard put the shotgun and a rifle from inside the trailer into the trunk of the friend’s car.

The friend convinced Howard to turn himself in, and he went to Harmar police station just after 3 a.m. and told the on-duty officer that he had accidentally killed his father.

Police found David Howard with a shotgun wound to the back of his head in his RV trailer in the 700 block of Guys Run Road.

As part of the plea agreement, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos ordered Shane Howard to serve 10 to 20 years in prison.

No victim-impact testimony was given during the hearing.