LANCASTER, Pa. — A teen charged in a deadly 2021 shooting in Lancaster will serve an aggregate sentence of 32½ years to life in prison, prosecutors said Monday.
Elijahuwon Ashmeir Brown, now 17, was sentenced in a hearing last Friday, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.
He was charged with criminal homicide, possession of a firearm by a minor, persons not to possess firearms, and use, manufacture, control, sell, or transfer of firearms in connection to the shooting death of 23-year-old Rolando Rivera on August 27, 2021.
Rivera was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting, which occurred on the 500 block of Third Street, police said at the time.
Brown was 14 years old when he shot and killed Rivera, according to prosecutors. because he was under 15 when he committed the murder, he was not subjected to the mandatory life sentence that adults would face. The minimum sentence Brown faced was 25 years.
He pleaded guilty to murder and weapons charges in October 2023.
Brown's aggregate sentence comes from his guilty plea to the murder charge. The sentence for his guilty plea to the weapons charges will run concurrently, according to prosecutors.
Investigators were able to identify Brown as a suspect in the murder by reviewing surveillance footage from the area of the incident and by speaking to witnesses.
Surveillance footage showed the victim in the area of the 500 and 600 blocks of Manor Street before the shooting. The video initially showed Rivera and Brown walking on opposite sides of the street, police say, but Brown eventually began following the victim west on Manor Street, still on the opposite side.
Additional footage showed Rivera walking on the 500 block of Third Street when Brown ran toward him, raised a firearm, and fired several shots at Rivera, who fell to the ground. The suspect then fled the scene, according to police.
One of the detectives recognized the suspect in the footage as Brown, police said at the time.
First Assistant District Attorney Travis Anderson read an impact statement from Rivera’s mother, played two videos that showed the shooting, and asked Judge Spahn to impose a sentence of at least 50 years at the sentencing hearing.
