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August 25, 2010

Detroit man sentenced in shooting death

By Staff New Castle News

NEW CASTLE — A Detroit man pleaded guilty Monday and was sentenced for the 2006 shooting death of Arthur “A.J.” Cheeks.

Stephen M. Barry-Gibbons, 24, entered a guilty plea to a third-degree murder charge.

Common Pleas Judge Thomas M. Piccione accepted the plea and sentenced Barry-Gibbons  him to seven to 15 years in a state correctional facility.

Cheeks, 23, of 32 W. Terrace Ave., was shot in the back of the head and killed while sitting in a car parked in front of his home on Dec. 23, 2006.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Minett said it is unusual to plead and be sentenced in the same day, but  everyone involved agreed not to further delay the proceedings.

Minett and defense attorney Steven Colafella of Beaver County last week had picked a jury within 2 1/2 days for Barry-Gibbons’  trial, in which the prosecution would seek the death penalty if he was convicted. The trial was to have begun Monday.

However, on Friday, Barry-Gibbons agreed to a plea bargain.

Minett said Barry-Gibbons admitted in court Monday morning that he had shot Cheeks and entered his plea while his mother, Stephanie Barry of Detroit, and the victim’s mother, Susan Cheeks of New Castle, were in the courtroom.

“Mrs. Cheeks said she would have preferred a longer sentence, but was satisfied,” Minett said. “She also said since the shooting, ‘We no longer exchange gifts at Christmas. We mourn.’”

Minett said police believed the shooting was drug-related.

He said they found eight spent shells at the scene, and that three bullets had penetrated the truck and two had hit the side of it.

The seat back and headrest of Cheeks’ truck also were hit. The shot that penetrated the headrest was the fatal shot, Minett said.

On Jan. 1, 2007,  state police were contacted by a man who told them a woman and her boyfriend offered to sell him a high-powered pistol that they said had been used in a shooting the week before, Minett explained.

The “buy” was set up under state police surveillance in a Union Township parking lot, after which troopers arrested the couple, Minett said.

Minett said the woman told police, “I was there when Juan shot A.J. Cheeks.”

She told them that Cheeks was believed to have participated in shooting up the house of another man, known to her only as B, about two weeks before his death.

After Cheeks was shot, she said, she accompanied Juan, B. and Gino — she did not know their real names — to Detroit. She said she returned to New Castle by bus the next day with instructions to get rid of the gun, and she decided to sell it.

Minett said the late Robert Lepore, a New Castle police officer, and Trooper Eric Weller prepared a photo lineup where the woman identified a photo of Barry-Gibbons as “Juan,” and Artis Brandon Chapman of Detroit, as “B.” He said “Gino” was never identified.

New Castle police were aware Barry-Gibbons had been arrested in Erie on drug charges, Minett said.

The suspect was returned to Lawrence County and arraigned on charges of criminal homicide, criminal conspiracy to commit homicide and multiple firearms violations.

The woman witness was given immunity in exchange for her cooperation, Minett said.

 The commonwealth in February, 2007, filed notice of aggravating circumstances, making it a capital punishment case.

“We believed the circumstances were that this was a drug-selling war between New Castle and Detroit factions,” Minett said.

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