Gittens
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WILKES-BARRE — A Kingston man who felt ripped off when he bought methamphetamine and retaliated by killing a man and injuring a woman was sentenced in Luzerne County Court on Monday.
Jeremy John Gittens, 38, of North Landon Avenue, was charged by Wilkes-Barre police and county detectives with fatally shooting Ryan McGovern, 32, and injuring Susan Sarin, as they drove in a 2001 Honda on Schuler Street, Wilkes-Barre, on March 4, 2020.
Court records say Gittens was upset he only received half of methamphetamine of what he paid for. He later retaliated by setting up to meet McGovern to buy heroin, shooting him in the back as they drove in a vehicle, court records say.
Gittens fled he area and was captured by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in New York City on March 13, 2020, and held for many months at Rikers Island Correctional Facility in New York.
Gittens was extradited to Luzerne County to face charges of criminal homicide, robbery and aggravated assault.
In court Monday, assistant district attorneys Jarrett Ferentino and Shana Messinger said Gittens pled guilty to third-degree murder.
Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr. accepted the plea agreement, and sentenced Gittens to 16 to 32 years in state prison.
Attorney Allyson Leigh Kacmarski represented Gittens.