'A scene of death': Father of 3 killed when man shot innocent bystander during 'tense argument' with someone else outside family barbecue

A Pennsylvania antheral volition walk respective years down bars for shooting and killing an guiltless bystander extracurricular a household barbecue.

In October 2025, Steffen Tidwell, 31, was convicted by a assemblage of his peers successful Lancaster County connected counts of voluntary manslaughter and discharging a firearm for the decease of 26-year-old Jomar Almestica.

On Thursday, the suspect was sentenced by Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas Judge Dennis Reinaker to a condemnation of 8 to 20 years successful authorities situation arsenic good arsenic $8,000 successful restitution.

The underlying incidental occurred connected Aug. 20, 2021, extracurricular of a enactment connected Hebrank Street successful Lancaster – a medium-sized metropolis which is located astir 80 miles owed westbound of Philadelphia.

Around 10 p.m. connected the nighttime successful question, the household barbecue turned into what prosecutors termed "a country of death" erstwhile Tidwell got into a "tense argument" with someone, according to a press release issued by the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.

At immoderate point, the since-condemned antheral got a handgun retired of his car, pointed it astatine Almestica and squeezed the trigger 5 times.

The Lancaster City Police Department arrived astatine the country of the transgression astir 10:15 p.m. and transported the unfortunate to a adjacent infirmary wherever helium succumbed to his injuries an hr later.

"There's nary crushed wherefore this should person happened," Assistant District Attorney Jessica Collo, who prosecuted the case, said successful a statement. "He escalated the situation. There's nary uncertainty of that."

Accounts of the nighttime vary.

Prosecutors said Almestica was not astatine each progressive successful the quality and was simply sitting oregon lasting connected the structure oregon steps of different residence erstwhile the unit broke out, according to courtroom reports by the Daily Voice and Lancaster Online.

The defendant, for his part, argued self-defense by claiming that helium believed helium saw Almestica scope for a weapon during the altercation. The authorities countered that statement by reiterating that the unfortunate was not portion of the statement and said determination was nary denotation helium had a gun.

In the end, the assemblage seemed to divided the difference, rejecting acold much superior charges of execution successful the archetypal and 3rd degrees – which would person resulted successful sentences of beingness successful situation without the anticipation of parole oregon betwixt 20-40 years successful prison, respectively.

Tidwell was volubly contrite during his allocution.

At assorted points, helium apologized to the victim's household successful wide and asked their forgiveness. He besides apologized to Almestica's parent straight and referred to the slain antheral arsenic a "precious life," according to the prosecutor's office. The suspect besides said helium was acceptable to beryllium held accountable for his actions and stressed that though helium was "in nary mode proud" of what had transpired, helium had changed during the 4 and a fractional years spent successful pretrial detention and would usage his remaining clip successful situation to go a amended person.

"I'm atrocious for the symptom and trauma I caused you," Tidwell told the family. "I person to woody with that for the remainder of my life."

The prosecutor, however, aimed to antagonistic the defendant's contrition and communicative of becoming amended than helium had antecedently been.

"What is justness if the terms of 1 man's advancement is different man's life?" Collo told the court.

The victim's household was besides represented during the sentencing hearing.

In a missive to the tribunal from Almestica's mother, Collo work aloud astir the "great symptom and emptiness" successful her bosom caused by her son's death. Almestica, his parent wrote, was "a good, humble and elemental boy" who loved sportfishing and giving gifts to his children. After the shooting, Almestica's parent stressed, his children volition turn up without a father.

"He was a lad who cared," different household subordinate told the court. "He was a begetter who mattered."

Almestica was a begetter of 3 and an aspiring instrumentalist who went by the signifier sanction "J-Easy LP."