HARRISBURG — Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced that a Cambria County man was sentenced to life in prison without parole for fatally shooting a Johnstown man in 2017 – a murder eyewitnessed by the victim’s wife and brother.
Jalen Gibson, 26, of Oak Street, Johnstown, was sentenced today before Judge Patrick T. Kiniry for the murder of 24-year-old Tevin Sitton. Gibson was previously convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and reckless endangerment by a Cambria County jury.
“The Office of Attorney General pursues justice for crime victims in every case we prosecute,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. “The sentence in this case fits the violent crime of first-degree murder for which the defendant was convicted.”
Gibson fatally shot Sitton in April 2017 from the rear passenger seat of a vehicle. Sitton’s wife and brother were nearby and were eyewitnesses to the murder. Sitton’s five-year-old son was standing near him as his father was killed.
According to the investigation, Sitton was speaking to the driver and passenger in a Chevrolet Malibu stopped on Von Lunen Road. Gibson fired the shots and Sitton fell to the ground. Vehicle driver Dennis Manson then drove the car away, while Gibson continued to shoot in the direction of Sitton.
The motive for the shooting remains unclear. Gibson did not have a license to legally carry a firearm when the shooting occurred. The case was referred to the Office of Attorney General by Cambria County District Attorney Kelly Callihan.
The driver and other passenger, Manson and Clifford Eddins, were found guilty of hindering apprehension, a second-degree misdemeanor, in May and were sentenced to two years of probation in August.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorneys General Patrick Schulte and Bobbi Jo Wagner.
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