Monessen teen pleads guilty in friend's killing

A Monessen teenager pleaded guilty on Monday to a charge of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the fatal shooting of his 16-year-old classmate in 2022.

Terry Newton, 17, had been scheduled to go to trial May 6 on criminal homicide charges related to his role in the Nov. 29, 2022 shooting of Amari Altomore. Prosecutors said Altomore was shot one time in the abdomen during an altercation that occurred as the teens played video games in the bedroom of Newton’s South 14th Street home.

In addition to the manslaughter offense, Newton also pleaded guilty to the illegal possession of a firearm.

“This deal includes a list of compromises to facilitate an outcome in the case to avoid a trial. It’s more of his pleading guilty to a lesser included offense instead of risking a conviction for first or third-degree murder,” said defense attorney Ken Noga.

Voluntary manslaughter is an intentional killing that occurs without malice. According to the description of the charge read aloud in court by the judge, Newton pleaded guilty to an offense in which he unreasonably believed he was justified in killing Altomore.

Police said Newton claimed Altomore, a junior at Monessen High School and a member of the school’s football team, initially brandished a gun and that it accidentally discharged as the teens fought over the weapon.

Newton fled the shooting scene and was on the run for three weeks before he was arrested and charged with Altomore’s killing.

Prosecutors contend the weapon used in the shooting was never recovered but a picture of Newton in possession of a gun was later identified.

Assistant District Attorney Katie Ranker said Altomore’s family agreed to the plea deal. Newton, who turns 18 in August, has been held in a pod at the Lawrence County Prison for juvenile offenders charged with adult crimes. He faced more than three decades in prison if convicted of the first-degree murder of Altomore and now could receive a sentence of up to 20 years behind bars for the voluntary manslaughter conviction.

The judge said he will said he will convene a sentencing hearing in three months.

During a hearing last year in which Newton unsuccessfully argued to have his case transferred to juvenile court, witnesses testified the teen had prior involvement with the juvenile justice system including cases in which he was charged in connection with multiple fights, including one in which he was accused of kicking a teenage girl in the face and another in which authorities said he attacked at teacher in school.

“This case is really a tragedy,” the judge said following Newton’s plea. “I don’t know all the facts but I am confident that if the lawyers said this is the best resolution of the case it’s not my place to step in and be an obstacle to a resolution.”