Baby shower shooter paroled after serving year in jail

Jul. 18—Isiah Hampton had a baby on the way and was surrounded by friends and family who wanted to celebrate when everything changed.

Hampton, 27, of Arnold pulled out a gun and shot two people after he refused to carry baby shower gifts out to his car at the end of the party nearly two years ago, according to prosecutors.

"I feel bad for what happened. I didn't want to hurt anybody," Hampton said Tuesday during his sentencing hearing.

Hampton, who pleaded guilty in April to charges of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, was ordered to serve just less than two years in jail. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio paroled Hampton after she gave him credit for more than a year he served behind bars after his arrest following the Sept. 18, 2021, incident at the Kinloch Fire Hall in Lower Burrell.

He also was ordered to serve an additional two years on probation and complete anger management classes.

Prosecutors dismissed one count against Hampton that charged him with aggravated assault with an attempt to cause serious bodily injury.

Police said an altercation that preceded the shooting erupted after Hampton refused to transport gifts from the baby shower.

Authorities said a woman slapped Hampton, who then pushed her backward. Hampton fell to the ground, pulled out a pistol and shot a 23-year-old man in the torso and a 16-year-old boy in the buttocks as they attempted to intervene in the fray. Another woman suffered a grazing wound to her leg, according to court records.

Hampton said he has five children, including one with a relative of two of his victims.

Assistant District Attorney Anthony Iannamorelli said Hampton's victims agreed with the plea deal and sentence.

"We do not take this case lightly. This deal satisfies the nature of the crime and forces the defendant not to possess a firearm for the rest of his life," Iannamorelli said.

The judge admonished Hampton for his behavior and said the sentence she imposed recognized the unique circumstances of the incident, his troubled background and acknowledged a potential self-defense argument was in play had the case gone to trial.

"At some point in the generational chain, someone has to break the cycle. Somebody has to break the chain. I hope you understand you permanently altered the lives of the people you just heard from. This isn't a game and this isn't fun," Bilik-DeFazio said.

"The victims weren't the people who started the altercation. This never should have gotten to the point it got to," she said.

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich by email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .