Erie man sentenced to 18 years in fatal shooting during mother's birthday party in 2022

Shannon D. Goodwin said he made a poor judgement or decision on the evening of Dec. 30, 2022, when he pulled a handgun he was not supposed to be carrying inside a crowded east Erie nightclub as people gathered to celebrate his mother's birthday.

Goodwin explained, as he stood in Erie County's largest courtroom that was nearly half-filled with spectators Tuesday morning, that he didn't know what was going on inside the Metroplex on Buffalo Road that night.

"I was afraid for my family, I was afraid for myself," the 23-year-old said.

Goodwin fired the gun, sending a bullet that traveled through his uncle's wrist before hitting 38-year-old Steve Smith and killing him.

Facing first-degree murder in Smith's death, Goodwin pleaded guilty in early February to third-degree murder, aggravated assault and carrying a firearm without a license just as jury selection was about to begin in his scheduled trial.

Erie County Judge John J. Mead on Tuesday sentenced Goodwin to serve 18 years and four months to 36 years and eight months in prison on his pleas.

Mead told Goodwin that he obviously had some good qualities, based on the many letters sent on his behalf and the statements made in court by Goodwin's parents and a friend.

"Unfortunately, when you decided to carry a gun that night you became a dangerous person and those qualities went away," the judge said.

Party turns deadly

According to police reports and testimony at prior court hearings, Goodwin had gone to the Metroplex for his mother's party. At some point Goodwin, who was earlier prevented from entering the nightclub with a gun, retrieved the weapon from a vehicle and went back inside the club before a fight broke out among some other people there.

Smith was reportedly helping to break up the fight when authorities said Goodwin threw a bar stool that hit Smith. Smith then reportedly threw a punch at Goodwin and was being pushed away when the gunshot was fired that struck him, according to police and court testimony.

Erie County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steven Liboski said what was the most striking about the incident was the number of opportunities Goodwin had to prevent the shooting from happening. That included following the nightclub's prohibition against firearms, leaving the gun in the vehicle instead of retrieving it, staying out of the fight rather than inserting himself in it, throwing the bar stool and ultimately firing the gun.

The series of events that brought Goodwin to that moment are difficult to imagine, Liboski said.

Liboski presented testimony from several members of Smith's family who talked about Smith's kindness, his willingness to help anyone, and how Smith wasn't doing anyone harm but was trying to diffuse a fight on the night he was killed. Several talked about how, while Goodwin will still be able to see and speak with his loved ones from behind bars, they will no longer have that with Smith.

Goodwin's lawyer, Rodney Blaine Jones II, of Pittsburgh, said in his comments to Mead that he believes Goodwin was scared that night and reacted out of fear, not anger or by trying to be tough.

Jones presented testimony from Goodwin's parents and from a woman who said she partnered with Goodwin to run a nonprofit program that, among other things, provides hygiene items and clothing to needy schoolchildren. They all talked about Goodwin's remorse and how out of character the incident at the Metroplex was, and they asked Mead to show leniency at sentencing.

Goodwin, in his comments to the court, said he regrets the incident every day and thinks about it every day. He said he understands he took something precious from Smith's family, and wishes he could go back and change what happened.

Goodwin asked Mead to view him as who he is, and not by the charges he faced.

"Please have mercy on my. Give me a second chance," he said.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie PA man sentenced to 18 years in fatal 2022 shooting at nightclub