Judge cites VP Vance as example for Arnold teen shooter
Share this post:
A Westmoreland County judge told an Arnold teen he should look to new Vice President JD Vance for inspiration.
Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani said Vance’s story portrayed in his book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” and a subsequent movie adaptation showing the vice president’s difficult upbringing was something Ikquan Hassain Amid Lynn, 18, should explore during his 6½-to-18 year prison sentence.
Lynn received the sentence Tuesday for an Arnold shooting more than three years ago that left him and three others wounded.
“You need to watch the movie, read the book to find out what he went through and how he overcame all of that adversity to become a U.S. senator and now is the vice president of the United States,” Feliciani said. He noted similarities between the politician and the young man who pleaded guilty earlier this week to his role in street shooting that left four people wounded.
In his book, Vance described a poor upbringing that featured parental instability, drug addiction and violence while growing up in Appalachia.
Lynn was 15 when he was charged with firing multiple rounds into a crowd of people and an occupied home in Arnold on Aug. 8, 2021. Lynn sustained wounds to his leg and thigh in the shooting.
Defense attorney Ken Noga argued for a lenient sentence for Lynn, describing a childhood that included a lack of parental oversight and a life filled with violence and criminal behavior since he was 10.
“I know he regrets his actions, and he never wanted this to occur the way it did,” Noga said. “Frankly, he is lucky to be here.
“And it’s a miracle given there were 26 rounds fired in this case and no one was killed.”
Prosecutors said Lynn — just three months after being adjudicated in juvenile court in connection with a Fayette County shooting — returned home and resumed his criminal behavior when he intervened in a street fight to defend his sister.
Investigators said Lynn used an automatic weapon and fired as many as 10 rounds and wounded three people.
Assistant District Attorney Katie Ranker argued Lynn should serve at least eight years in prison as a result of his conviction. Prosecutors earlier this week dismissed five counts of attempted murder and more than a dozen other related charges associated with the shooting.
“That was difficult to do,” Ranker said of the decision to dismiss some charges against Lynn. “The reason was to rescue a conviction in this case and mitigated the risk of putting evidence in the hands of 12 people.”
The judge said Lynn’s future is in his hands. He praised Lynn for obtaining a high school diploma while in jail awaiting disposition of his case.
Lynn, who was charged as an adult, has been in custody for more than three years.
“I am not willing to say your life is a loss. It is up to you,” Feliciani said. “Don’t sell yourself short when you get out of jail. If you do, you will spend the rest of your life in a cell — or six feet under.”