Updated: May 24, 2023
Aaron Scott was sentenced in January 2023 to 20 to 40 years in prison for the third-degree murder charge, and additional years for the remaining offenses. He filed an appeal of the sentence to a higher court in February and is waiting to hear back.
Original story follows:
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia man charged with killing a driver and severely injuring a student near Lincoln High School in Mayfair last year has pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and aggravated assault charges.
Aaron Scott, 22, admitted he was the one who pulled a gun and fired it on Oct. 18, 2021, just outside of Lincoln after the high school had dismissed for the day, critically injuring student Ivan Cuevas, and fatally striking 66-year-old Jeffery Carter with a stray bullet.
Scott kept his head down as prosecutors read the facts for the judge. His family sat behind him, sobbing. Nearby, the family of Jeffery Carter was also in tears.
Prosecutors played a montage of surveillance video, showing Scott, then 21, walking up to a teenager and throwing a punch — before pulling out a gun and firing a dozen times, hitting Cuevas in the back.
Carter, who was driving by after dropping off a dress for his granddaughter, was struck in the head and crashed his car into the school’s fence.
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Cuevas, following an intensive year-long road to recovery, including three major surgeries and physical rehabilitation, listened on.
On video, Scott can be seen walking back down the street, when two officers nearby order him to surrender. He drops his gun and the ammunition and gets on his knees. Then the officers arrest him.
Scott will be sentenced in January.
In the meantime, the judge ordered a mental health examination for Scott — his attorney saying it’s a major factor in the case, and that Scott was on the phone with his therapist that morning.