Jeremiah Ligon had a lot going for him.
A standout guard on his Penn Hills basketball team, he got a scholarship to play basketball at Clarion University in 2016.
But he dropped out after less than a semester. A few years later, he was charged with killing a man.
On Tuesday, Ligon, 27, of Penn Hills was ordered to serve 14 to 34 years in state prison.
Ligon pleaded guilty in August to third-degree murder for the death of Mager Rainey, 22, of Homewood, who was shot and killed on Oct. 20, 2019.
According to prosecutors, Rainey was killed while visiting a house near Rebecca Avenue and Jeannette Street.
A red Nissan Titan pickup pulled up to the area, and two people began firing.
Police recovered seven .45-caliber and 14 .40-caliber casings.
Ligon, Herbert Lee Walker III and Kenya Harper were charged.
Investigators said Walker and Ligon had placed a tracking device on Rainey’s vehicle weeks earlier, and Ligon had an app on his phone to track Rainey’s movements.
All three pleaded guilty. Walker, who also pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, was ordered to serve 15 to 37 years in prison. Harper, who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy, was sentenced to serve one to two years incarceration to be followed by three years of probation.
At Ligon’s sentencing hearing Tuesday, two of his former basketball coaches testified about the teen they knew on the court.
They described him as respectful and courteous — the kind of kid who would take himself out of a game to make sure his teammates got some playing time.
“It wasn’t always like this,” said AAU coach Kevin Brown. “I’ve got so many good memories, and to be here today just doesn’t match what I know.”
Ligon’s mom, Chaka Poole, told the court her son struggled academically before finding basketball.
The game gave him a sense of purpose and opened up opportunities for him, she said. He became a high school honors student and was accepted at Clarion.
But at one point, Poole said, Ligon’s older brother was incarcerated, and her younger son’s trajectory changed. It led him to addiction and crime.
He was shot four times and nearly died.
Poole thought that experience would turn her son around. And for a time, she was hopeful. He recovered, moved out and started his own clothing brand, Poole said.
But he kept falling back in with a bad crowd.
Ligon, she said, was used as a pawn.
“He made a terrible mistake,” Poole said. “The man who committed this crime is not the man I raised.”
Poole also addressed Rainey’s family, who did not testify.
“As a mother, I mourn alongside you,” she said.
Ligon spoke briefly, expressing sorrow and regret.
“I am deeply sorry for the pain and loss I’ve caused,” he said. “I know my actions have taken someone precious from you.
“I will carry this guilt with me for the rest of my life.”
Defense attorney Lisle Weaver said Ligon had been a promising young man.
“He deviated from that path as far as one could go,” he said.
Weaver told the court that his client’s life changed after he left Clarion. He questioned whether, because Ligon had spent much of his life being adored for his basketball prowess, he turned to the wrong crowd to continue to find validation.
“It’s unfathomable to the people standing behind me,” Weaver said.
But Assistant District Attorney Stephen Sliger said the support available to Ligon — the friends, family and loved ones — added to the sadness.
“What I hear from that testimony is, this is a person who had support,” Sliger said. “He made these choices anyway.”
He continued: “That makes him more culpable. He chose to go down that path, even after he was shot.”
Common Pleas President Judge Susan Evashavik DiLucente questioned what happened.
“When you left college, your whole life fell apart,” she said. “You were an idolized role model your whole life … and then you left college, and you didn’t have that anymore.”
Evashavik DiLucente said she felt bad for those circumstances, but they don’t absolve Ligon of responsibility.
“Your situation is a tragedy, and Mr. Rainey’s situation is a tragedy,” she said. “It’s such a waste of life.”