A man convicted in September for trying to kill two state troopers as he was being transported to SCI Pine Grove last year was sentenced this morning in Indiana County Court.
Indiana County President Judge William Martin sentenced 21-year-old Simere Alford of Philadelphia to serve two to 40 years in state prison for each of two counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, which are set to run consecutively and five to ten years each for robbery-threat of immediate serious injury and robbery-person not to possess a firearm, which will run consecutively with each other and with the two murder sentences. He was also ordered to serve between nine months and 20 years for each of the remaining charges which included two counts of reckless endangerment, aggravated assault to a law enforcement officer, assault of a law enforcement officer, theft, assault by a prisoner, institutional vandalism, disarming a law enforcement officer, attempted escape, carrying a firearm without a license and resisting arrest.
The charges were connected with an incident on June 24th when Alford broke free of his back-seat restraints, reached into the front seat, and grabbed the gun of the driver, Trooper Jeremy Leasure, firing a shot that missed Leasure’s head. A second shot that went off as the two fought for the gun hit Alford in the leg. The vehicle crashed, but Alford was eventually subdued. Leasure and Trooper Allison Goswick were injured in the crash.
Alford is already serving 13 to 40 years in prison for the suffocation death of his sister.
Also sentenced today in Indiana County Court were:
- 37-year-old Adam Lowmaster of Mahaffey, who was convicted in October of aggravated assault, harassment and resisting arrest. Police were called out for a disturbance last December and Lowmaster resisted arrest at the time. He was ordered to pay fines, court costs, and spend 9 months to two years in state prison. All of his sentences will run concurrently.
- 42-year-old Barry Sheely Jr. of Ernest was ordered to serve 6 months to a day less than two years in Indiana County Jail for charges of aggravated and simple assault along with terroristic threats. All of his sentences will run concurrently.
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