One of at least two gunmen who killed a women and her 4-year-old daughter outside a Pittsburgh convenience store is headed to prison for 13 years under a plea deal hammered out with prosecutors after a mistrial last year.
Tarrell Jennings, 22, of Wilmerding pleaded guilty Wednesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court to two counts of third-degree murder in the killing of Temani Lewis, 21, of East Hills and her daughter, Kaari Thompson, on Dec. 1, 2022, outside Brooklyn Market in the city’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood.
Jennings was sentenced to 13 to 30 years for the murders and several other unrelated crimes.
Marquise St. Julien-Givner, the first shooter convicted in the killings is serving two consecutive life sentences. He opted against a jury trial and instead chose a bench trial in which the judge hears the evidence and renders a verdict.
Investigators said Jennings was one of four people who opened fire on a Jeep Cherokee parked that night outside the store in the 1500 block of Lincoln Avenue. Police found 34 shell casings at the scene.
Kaari was killed, and Lewis died nearly a week later. Lewis’ boyfriend, who also was inside the Jeep, was grazed.
Pittsburgh police charged Jennings and St. Julien-Givner, 24, of Wilkinsburg, but have not publicly identified the other two alleged shooters.
Police did not respond Wednesday to phone calls or emails seeking comment.
In November, a jury became deadlocked after deliberating for less than five hours about whether Jennings was responsible for the shooting deaths. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer, who oversaw the trial, declared a mistrial.
Three months later, Beemer sentenced St. Julien-Givner to two consecutive life terms with no chance for parole. The punishment was mandatory under Pennsylvania law.
On Wednesday, Beemer called the murders “a vicious, horrible shooting of two defenseless individuals.”
“It’s hard to calculate the depth of this loss to the family, to the community,” Beemer said before approving to the plea deal. “Watching that video repeatedly during the course of (November’s) trial was one of the most difficult things, given the absolute disregard for human life.”
Asked by TribLive about the disparity in sentences for the two shooters, Allegheny County First Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Spangler said, “Based on all the surrounding circumstances, the plea and sentence reflects the defendant’s culpability.”
Lewis’ parents attended Jennings’ plea. They declined comment afterward.
Jennings did not apologize to the victims’ family in court. Earlier this year, St. Julien-Givner did.
“I feel sadness for what happened to these people, too. I grew up with them. I knew them,” he said in February.
Combined sentence
Flanked by three defense attorneys representing him in multiple cases, Jennings also pleaded guilty Wednesday in a trio of unrelated cases.
Jennings will serve concurrent sentences for a total of 13 to 30 years in prison on the murder charges as well as for possessing cocaine, and stealing a car and leading police on a high-speed chase in 2023, and attempting to escape the Allegheny County Jail last year.
Jennings will enter state prison with nearly three years of credit for time already served, Beemer said. Jennings has been held at the jail since 2023.
The third-degree murder charge means that Jennings did not act with intent to kill but instead opened fire with recklessness and a disregard for human life, the judge said.
“In light of everything, I think this has been fairly negotiated,” Assistant District Attorney Diana Page said in court.
Attorney Owen Seman, who represented St. Julien-Givner, did not return a phone call seeking comment. Seman previously said his client wishes to maintain his innocence and plans to appeal.
Lewis’ family was aware of the plea deal going into court Wednesday, Page said.
Lewis’ parents made no victim-impact statements before the sentencing. Seated in the courtroom’s back row, they remained composed for much of Wednesday’s 50-minute-long hearing. Lewis’ mother, Christina Potter, appeared to make no eye contact with Jennings.
She started crying only when Beemer referred to details of the shooting.
When St. Julien-Givner was convicted in February, Potter called her daughter’s and granddaughter’s killings “senseless.”
“This is the biggest tragedy I’ve ever had,” she said then. “I don’t wish this on no one.”