Teen pleads guilty in Arnold street shooting
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An Arnold teenager who has been in jail for the past three years as he awaited trial for the attempted murder of five people in 2021 pleaded guilty Monday to lesser charges.
Ikquan Hassain Amid Lynn, 18, told a Westmoreland County judge it was in his best interest to admit guilt to eight felony counts as part of a deal with prosecutors rather than proceed to trial on nearly three dozen charges in connection with allegations he fired an assault weapon into a crowd of people and toward a home in Arnold on Aug. 8, 2021.
He pleaded guilty to five counts of aggravated assault and single charges of illegal possession of a weapon by a minor, firing a gun into an occupied home and reckless endangerment. Prosecutors dismissed five counts of attempted murder, five additional counts of aggravated assault, 10 charges of simple assault and six counts of reckless endangerment.
Prosecutors claimed Lynn, then 15, intervened in a street fight between his sister and another person when he fired a weapon during an ensuing melee along Kenneth Avenue. Two men and a 17-year-old boy were shot in the incident and two others were seriously injured, police said. A 2-year-old boy was among the three people who were inside a house that police said Lynn fired upon during the incident.
Lynn was also shot.
Defense attorney Ken Noga said Lynn suffered wounds to his leg. Prosecutors declared the shooting of Lynn was justified as an act of self-defense and no one else was charged in connection with the incident.
Noga said evidence revealed more than two dozen rounds were fired during the shootout. Lynn was accused of firing 10 shots, while another 16 rounds were fired by others, he said.
Lynn, who turns 19 next week, was prosecuted as an adult and faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Tuesday by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani.
Prosecutors declined to explain why they agreed to allow Lynn to plead guilty to a reduced set of lesser charges.
“The commonwealth was prepared to go to trial this morning, however, Mr. Lynn accepted responsibility and entered a guilty plea. We are satisfied with the result and intend on asking the judge for an appropriate sentence tomorrow,” read a statement released on behalf of Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli.