LANCASTER, Pa. — The Lancaster County District Attorney's Office announced Wanyai Parker has been sentenced to 15 to 30 years in state prison after pleading guilty to attempted homicide and eight additional charges in connection to an incident in September 2020.
Parker plead guilty on Nov. 12, 2021 to nine charges, including attempted homicide, person not to possess firearms, burglary, and discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, the DA's office said.
On Sept. 20, 2020, East Lampeter Township Police were dispatched to Bentley Ridge Boulevard around 10:11 p.m., where they discovered multiple shell casings and bullet holes in an outside stairwell and inside of an apartment in Lancaster.
According to police, a victim with an active Protection From Abuse Order against Parker reported that Parker had broken into her apartment and held her and her sister at gunpoint.
Parker had taken both of their cellphones and proceeded to fire multiple rounds at the victim as she managed to escape and flee to the neighbors house for help, officials state.
Following the incident, police were able to locate the handgun that Parker discarded in a wooded area close to the residence.
“It’s sheer luck this isn’t a homicide case,” Assistant District Attorney Mark Fetterman stated at sentencing. “It’s a miracle nobody was hurt.”
A Lancaster judge sentenced Parker on Thursday, Jan. 20.
Officials say the defense argued that Parker had consumed a large amount of alcohol prior to the incident in 2020 and had an undiagnosed mental illness.
Parker has since apologized to the victim and family in attendance, stating "If I could go back in time, I’d change what I’ve done.”
