A Jeannette man entered a guilty plea Tuesday to third-degree homicide in connection with a 2019 fatal shooting outside McKee Stadium during the fourth quarter of a high school football game.
Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey said entering the general plea was a difficult decision for Greg Harper, 43, to make. Trial was set to begin this week in the death of Dameian Williams, 48, of Jeannette.
“We’ll have a lot of mitigation to offer at sentencing,” Thomassey said.
Police testified during Harper’s preliminary hearing that the two men were arguing just outside the stadium Sept. 6, 2019, where about 1,500 spectators were watching Jeannette High School defeat Imani Christian Academy. Police on patrol at the game reported hearing gunshots around 9:20 p.m. with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Williams was found with a gunshot wound just outside the Park Street gate of the stadium and died the following morning at a hospital.
Police said in court papers that both men were attending the game. The remaining spectators were instructed to exit the stadium in the opposite direction while police secured the scene.
Witnesses described the shooter and police said they found Harper, who matched the description, standing nearby with a handgun in his waistband. Harper told investigators that Williams attacked him, according to testimony.
Thomassey said prosecutors dropped first- and second-degree homicide charges.
“I think this is the appropriate outcome in the case,” he said. “I think there’s a lot that’s going to be presented in the sentencing.”
That will happen in about 90 days. Harper faces a maximum potential sentence of up to 40 years on the third-degree homicide charge.
