James Scott Miller Jr. leaves the Luzerne County Courthouse Friday after pleading guilty to third-degree murder and sentenced to 15 to 30 years in state prison for fatally shooting Brian Edwards in Nanticoke on Feb. 25, 2023.
Ed Lewis | Times Leader
James Scott Miller pled guilty to third-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in state prison
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WILKES-BARRE — A Plymouth man admitted he fatally shot his once best friend in a feud over a woman more than a year ago.
James Scott Miller, 33, of Smith Row, was charged by the Pennsylvania State Police at Wilkes-Barre for shooting Brian Edwards, 37, on Jifkin Street in Nanticoke on Feb. 25, 2023.
Investigators in court records say the two men were in a feud over a woman.
“I’m sorry to Brian’s family for all the pain and suffering I caused,” Miller said during an emotional sentencing hearing before Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Vough on Friday.
“We were both in a bad place in both of our lives,” Miller said.
Miller pled guilty to third-degree murder and was immediately sentenced by Vough to 15 to 30 years in state prison. The plea agreement was announced by Deputy District Attorney Dan Zola who, along with Assistant District Attorney Anthony Cardone, prosecuted.
“We were best friends to the worst of enemies,” Miller said. “I know there is no way to make things right. I’m trying to do the right thing. Brian was a good guy.”
Miller’s attorney, Frank T. McCabe II, said drug use “mixed with (Miller’s) mind,” noting Miller and Edwards were best friends as their relationship, “went south.”
“The gravity of what he had done has never been lost,” McCabe said of Miller.
Edwards’ sister, Kelly Gower, said the loss of her brother has been, “an emotional roller coaster” every day since he was killed. “He was a kind person. Think about what you have done to my family and your own family. I’m sorry, I can’t forgive you.”
Edwards’ girlfriend of 19 years, Jocelyn Thomas, tearfully read victim impact statements from their three children calling the death of Edwards, a “senseless murder” that will forever impact their lives.
Edwards was shot while he was inside his Ford pickup truck while driving on Jifkin Street where Miller was visiting a friend.
Investigators say they recovered six .40-caliber shell casings and two spent .40-rounds, one from the driver’s seat of the Ford and another during Edwards’ autopsy.
Neighbors in the area told investigators they heard five to seven shots and a man having trouble starting a motorcycle before speeding away, court records say.
Investigators found Miller’s backpack inside the friend’s residence that had an empty holster, Miller’s wallet and birth certificate and a box of .40-caliber full metal jacket ammunition containing 29 rounds with 21 rounds missing.
A friend to both Miller and Edwards told investigators, court records say, the two men did not get along and had a feud over Miller’s girlfriend, who suggested Edwards was in a relationship with the same woman.