After 11 hours of deliberation over Wednesday and Thursday, the jury found defendant Leon Platt guilty of third-degree murder.
Platt, 28, of Rochester, is accused of murdering Richard Hogue, 28, just after 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2013 in an apartment on 411 Loop St. in Ellwood City. Lawrence County Judge J. Craig Cox is hearing the case, Assistant District Attorney Thomas Minett is prosecuting and defense attorney John Bongivengo is representing Platt.
Although the prosecution pushed for a first-degree murder charge, the jury ultimately decided on third-degree. Per Pennsylvania law, murders in the third-degree are committed with malice but not intent to kill.
Platt was also found guilty of two other incidents on Nov. 11 and 16: shooting at a house on Fox Street and shooting at a vehicle along the 1200 block of Lawrence Avenue.
He could face between 20 to 40 years for the murder charge and up to 41 years for all other charges, if the judge rules that the terms be served consecutively. If Platt had been found guilty of first-degree murder, the prosecution could have pushed for the death penalty.
How come he wasn’t also charged with sex with an underage girl? She was only 17 when all this crap went down?