Pittsburgh man gets up to 40 years prison for 2019 fatal Arnold shooting

Shawden L. Ross told a Westmoreland County judge Friday he understood the pain his victim’s family members experienced as he endured the same kind of loss.

Ross, 36, of Pittsburgh was ordered to serve 20 to 40 years in prison for the third-degree murder of 27-year-old Lamont Simmons on April 5, 2019, in an Arnold alley.

Ross said that while in prison awaiting trial for Simmons’ murder, his son was shot 11 times and killed.

“I apologize to the family for this incident. I am not a bad person. I lost a son, so I know how it feels,” Ross said. “This is hard on me, dealing with this situation. I feel the pain. I feel the hurt. I know what they are going through.”

Following a trial in March, a Westmoreland County jury found Ross guilty of third-degree murder and a weapons offense.

Prosecutors had sought a first-degree murder conviction. They contended Ross and another man left a party they attended at a Fourth Street home, walked Simmons into an alley at gunpoint and fired at least three shots that killed a man Ross described in court Friday as his best friend.

Family members described Simmons as an outgoing, kind and caring man.

“He wanted to do so much with his life,” said Simmons’ aunt, Tionna Simmons. “We don’t understand why you took him away from us.”

Assistant District Attorney Pete Caravello argued that prosecutors still believe Ross intentionally killed Simmons. They asked that he receive a sentence of up to 50 years in prison.

Defense attorney Brian Aston said evidence revealed that Simmons was wounded in the lower back and not shot in the head.

“I don’t believe he tried to kill him. I don’t believe there was any intent to kill here,” Aston said.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger called Simmons’ killing “senseless” and noted there appeared to be no motive for the fatal shooting.

“A life is destroyed, and the worst of all is the wasted lives. You shot a man, and you left him there to die alone on the streets of Arnold,” Krieger said. “If you have remorse now, you didn’t have any then.”