A 17-year-old suspect has been arrested in the July 8 shooting death of an Aliquippa teenager. Lamar Seymour turned himself in to the Beaver County Sheriff. State police took Seymour to the District Judge’s office in Freedom on Friday afternoon. That was for the arraignment of the teenager, who is being tried as an adult in a slaying that the Beaver County district attorney has described as execution-style. Seymour made arrangements with his attorney to turn himself in to the Sheriff’s Office at the Beaver County Courthouse. He is charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Dahvea Sparrow in Aliquippa. Sparrow was shot in the head from less than five feet away, gunned down in the street about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, near where Anava was attending a graduation party. Although Seymour is charged as an adult, he cannot be housed with adult inmates. During the arraignment, the judge ruled that he will be held in the county jail, separated from the adult population there. Testimony at Seymour’s arraignment indicated that he previously faced firearms and drug possession charges in juvenile court. “As prosecutors we believe that when the facts are known, you’ve heard some of them, there was a deliberate and intentional execution in this case with a .40 caliber firearm to the head. He (Sparrow) was the target and this was his (Seymour’s) second potential crime, so he’s a danger to the community,” Lozier told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4. “We want to make sure the citizens of Aliquippa know we have their backs. We want them to know what we do. They’ve been working diligently, 24 hours a day,” Lozier said. “We had everyone looking for this individual to make sure that he was in jail and that there would be justice and that the citizens would be safe. And again, our prayers go out to the Sparrow family.” family members of the defendant attended Seymour’s court appearance. His defense attorney, Blaine Jones, spoke afterward. “These are allegations, so I don’t know how anyone could argue that he’s a danger to the community. When you make a statement like that, you have to back it up with some evidence. And frankly, this is an allegation, and fortunately , in the United States, you’re innocent until proven guilty, if ever,” Jones told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4. Jones is questioning what happened Saturday night. “In the report it says that two individuals got into a fight and then one individual may have been shot. So I want to know, who was the initial aggressor? Did one person prevail over another? Because you have the right. to defend -se,” Jones said. “Within 24 hours (of the accusations), we made arrangements to hand him over. Both he and his family were adamant about turning themselves in. He didn’t want to be seen as running. He wants his day in court. And, like I said, he literally took him to the Beaver County Courthouse and took him to the sheriff’s office, and the young man was ready. The first thing he said to me was, ” I want to turn around.” myself,” Jones said. Seymour will face a preliminary hearing July 27 in county court.
FREEDOM, Pa. —
A 17-year-old suspect has been arrested in the July 8 shooting death of an Aliquippa teenager.
Lamar Seymour turned himself in to the Beaver County Sheriff. State police took Seymour to the Freedom District Judge’s office Friday afternoon.
That was because of the indictment of the teenager, who is being tried as an adult in a killing that the Beaver County district attorney has described as execution-style.
Seymour made arrangements with his attorney to turn himself in to the Sheriff’s Office at the Beaver County Courthouse. He is charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Dahvea Sparrow in Aliquippa.
Sparrow was shot in the head from a distance of less than five feet, shot in the street around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, near where he was attending a graduation party.
Although Seymour is charged as an adult, he cannot be housed with adult inmates. At the arraignment, the judge ruled that he will be held in the county jail, separated from the adult population there.
Testimony at Seymour’s arraignment indicated that he previously faced firearms and drug possession charges in juvenile court.
“As prosecutors we believe that when the facts are known, you’ve heard some of them, there was a deliberate and intentional execution in this case with a .40 caliber firearm to the head. He (Sparrow) was the target and this was his (Seymour’s) second potential crime, so he’s a danger to the community,” Lozier told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.
“We want to make sure the citizens of Aliquippa know we have their backs. We want them to know we’ve been working diligently, 24 hours a day,” Lozier said. “We had everyone looking for this individual to make sure that he was in jail and that there would be justice and that the citizens would be safe. And again, our prayers go out to the Sparrow family.”
More than half a dozen family members of the defendant attended Seymour’s arraignment. His defense attorney, Blaine Jones, spoke afterward.
“These are allegations, so I don’t know how anyone could argue that he’s a danger to the community. When you make a statement like that, you have to back it up with some evidence. And frankly, this is an allegation, and fortunately , in America you’re innocent until proven guilty, if ever,” Jones told Action News 4 in Pittsburgh.
Jones questions what happened Saturday night.
“In the report, it says two individuals fought and then one individual may have been shot. So I want to know, who was the initial aggressor? Did one person get the better of another person? Because you have the right . to stand up for you,” Jones said.
“Within 24 hours (of the accusations), we made arrangements to hand him over. Both he and his family were adamant about handing themselves over. He didn’t want to be perceived as ordinary. He wants the his day in court. And, like I said, he literally took him to the Beaver County Courthouse and took him to the sheriff’s office, and the young man was ready. The first thing he said to me was, ‘ I want to turn myself in,’” Jones said.
Seymour faces a July 27 preliminary hearing in county court.
