For the second time, the Pennsylvania Superior Court denied an appeal filed by Scott Sargent, who was convicted by a Luzerne County jury of attempting to kill five law enforcement officers during a shooting spree outside a Wilkes-Barre Township department store in 2015.
Sargent, 38, claimed in his latest appeal Judge David W. Lupas, who presided over the trial in October 2017, prevented him from questioning township police officer Mitchell Rennick about the effects of methamphetamine has on an individual’s judgment and perception.
Sargent further challenged Lupas’ decision that precluded him from introducing evidence about “voluntary intoxication” and his impaired condition at “the time of the rampage.” Sargent claimed his impaired condition from being under the influence of alcohol and methamphetamine should have been admitted to negate “specific intent” to shoot at the five police officers.
Another issue Sargent challenged were several of the convicted charges should had merged for sentencing reducing the imposed sentence of 179 to 358 years in state prison he received by Lupas in December 2017.
A three-member panel of the Superior Court in a 15 page decision issued Friday denied Sargent’s appeal.
The appellate court agreed with Lupas in denying Sargent’s efforts to solicit testimony about the effects of being under the influence of an illicit drug and Lupas correctly imposed the lengthy sentence.
The Superior Court previously upheld Sargent’s conviction and sentence denying his first appeal in January 2020.
Sargent was convicted with multiple counts of attempted murder of five law enforcement officers who responded to the parking lot of Walmart Supercenter on Highland Park Boulevard on Oct. 17, 2015.
Sargent drove behind the store and began firing rounds from an AR-15 style rifle, which was equipped with a scope and a high-capacity magazine into garage doors of an auto-repair garage attached to the store.
When officers arrived, Sargent proceeded to fire rounds in their direction hitting cruisers and civilian vehicles.
During a standoff that spanned approximately 15 minutes, a Wilkes-Barre police officer shot Sargent in the abdomen ending the gunfire.
After Sargent was convicted after the jury trial, he appeared at his sentencing hearing with a tattoo of a skull hovering over five tombstones each marked with the names of the five officers he attempted to kill.
Prior to the shooting, Sargent and his girlfriend were at Mohegan Sun Casino where he believed he was being followed by two men. When they drove to Walmart, his girlfriend entered the store and Sargent believed he saw the same two men following him as the reason he gave to the shooting.
Sargent claimed he was under the influence of alcohol and methamphetamine and was not thinking correctly.
