3 plead guilty to third-degree murder in 2016 case

Three people pleaded guilty Monday to third-degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy stemming from a marijuana deal that went bad last year.

Appearing before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani with plea agreements were Johnnie L. Raines III, 21, of Perry South; Mitchell Coles, 22, of Marshall- Shadeland; and Erica Harris, 25, of North Versailles.

Raines was ordered to serve a total of 20 to 45 years in prison as part of a deal with the district attorney’s office. Coles will serve a total of 20 to 50 years in prison.

Ms. Harris, who had been out on electronic home monitoring, was taken into custody pending sentencing on Aug. 2.

She faces a standard range penalty for third-degree murder of 8½ years in prison.

Saevon Scott-Ponder, 21, of Penn Hills, was found dead in a wooded area off Buffington Avenue in Beltzhoover about 7:30 p.m. on March 24, 2016. He had been shot 14 times.

According to assistant district attorney Chelsie Pratt, Ms. Harris had taken $800 to buy marijuana from Mr. Scott-Ponder that afternoon, but he didn’t have it. When Ms. Harris realized she’d

been burned on the deal, she went to get her boyfriend, Coles, and picked up his good friend Raines. The two men were shot in the same incident together in 2014, Ms. Pratt said.

Ms. Harris then drove the men to Boggs Avenue to Mr. Scott-Ponder’s home. They put him in her car, and as they were driving, the victim jumped out of the moving vehicle. First, the prosecutor said, Raines got out to chase him, followed by Coles. Surveillance video in the community shows the foot pursuit.

Coles and Raines finally caught Mr. Scott-Ponder, put him back in the car, and Ms. Harris drove the two miles to Buffington Avenue, the prosecutor said. Ms. Harris parked the car on the dead-end street, and Coles and Raines led him into the woods, Ms. Pratt said, ordered Mr. Scott-Ponder to take off his shoes and then shot him 14 times with one gun.

Judge Mariani noted that it was the third homicide case he has presided over in a row that was caused by a marijuana deal.