#Justice For Alexis

January 6th 2018

"A Washington man was sentenced to 9 to 20 years in state prison for a 2016 shooting that killed 19-year-old Alexis Barnett.

Washington County Judge Gary Gilman imposed the sentence Friday when Tavian Hooper pleaded guilty to third-degree homicide, attempted homicide and aggravated assault as part of a deal with prosecutors.

City police said Hooper, who turns 20 Saturday, shot Barnett of Washington and wounded her friend Jay, then 21, while they walked with friends on Maple Avenue on the night of May 4, 2016. He and an accomplice, Jamaal Greene, reportedly were targeting Ed, with whom police said they had "bad blood."

Hooper received credit for time served since his arrest later that month.

"I think the sentence is a good sentence," said Ryan Tutera, Hooper's attorney. "When he gets out, he'll have another chance at life. And that's a good thing."

Rivera, who was with Barnett, Jay and other friends that night, testified at a preliminary hearing the group was walking on Maple Avenue when Greene, driving a vehicle with Hooper riding in the front, pulled up.

Ed, 26, testified he crossed the street before the car made a U-turn and sped off. Ed said Hooper pointed his hand at him like it was a gun and said "Boom, boom." The car returned, coming down Bruce Street at a high speed with no headlights on before leaving the area. Ed said he hid behind a pickup truck.

After he, Barnett and Jay decided to return to Jay's house, where they'd been earlier, he said he heard two shots, each followed by one of the women saying they'd been hit. Both women were taken to Washington Hospital. Barnett was pronounced dead in the emergency room.

Ed reportedly saw Hooper turn and look at him as he ran away following the shooting, but he didn't actually witness Hooper firing the weapon.

Greene pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit homicide last year and was sentenced by Gilman in August to 81/2 to 20 years in state prison.

Tutera said he believed prosecutors "assessed their case, and they realized they could have a potential issue with regard to some of their witnesses." He declined to elaborate.

Court records show Ed is currently facing aggravated assault and other charges in connection with an incident in which South Strabane police said he shot a woman in the foot at a hotel after he produced a revolver and invited others to play Russian roulette with him in July 2016.

He also faces drug charges filed by state police in November, also in Washington County.

Tutera said "of course" his client feels remorse, adding his client and Jay were friends and their families know each other.

"They feel for the family of the victim," he said. "Obviously, nobody wanted this to happen to anybody, toward the young girl.""
This story is straight from Observer Reporter .com.
https://observer-reporter.com/news/localnews/city-man-sentenced-to-to-years-in-shooting/article_dde0fbb4-f255-11e7-b7de-93ab4b16341b.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share