Jaymier Perry admitted to fatally shooting 15-year-old Derrick Harris Jr. outside their Pittsburgh school in 2023 and faces 35 years to life
Credit: Courtesy of Allegheny County
NEED TO KNOW
- Jaymier Perry was 15 when he fatally shot fellow student Derrick Harris Jr. outside Pittsburgh’s Oliver Citywide Academy in May 2023
- Prosecutors said Perry later told detectives he killed Harris because Harris had taken his Beats headphones
- Under a plea agreement, Perry is expected to be sentenced to 35 years to life on July 29
A teenager who told police he fatally shot a fellow student outside a Pittsburgh school after the victim had taken his Beats headphones is set to learn his fate.
Jaymier Perry, now 18, entered a guilty plea Wednesday in the May 2023 killing of 15-year-old Derrick Harris Jr. outside Oliver Citywide Academy. Under a negotiated plea agreement, Perry is expected to be sentenced on July 29 to 35 years to life in prison, according to online court records and reporting by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, WTAE, WPXI and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Perry was 15 at the time of the shooting, making him ineligible for the mandatory sentence of life without parole that typically accompanies a first-degree murder conviction, the outlets reported.
According to the outlets, Perry arrived at the special-education school on May 24, 2023, carrying his mother’s 9 mm handgun. According to the Tribune-Review, prosecutors said Perry knew he and Harris were usually among the first students to arrive that morning.
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The city’s ShotSpotter system detected gunfire around 7:25 a.m., and officers responding to the scene found Harris suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He later died at Allegheny General Hospital, according to the outlets.
According to court records and the outlets, surveillance video showed Perry approaching Harris on the school’s front steps before the shooting. Prosecutors said the footage showed Perry assaulting Harris after he fell to the ground before leaving the scene, per the Tribune-Review.
Police quickly located Perry nearby and took him into custody while he was still carrying the handgun, according to court records and the outlets.
According to court records and the outlets, Perry told detectives he killed Harris because Harris had taken his Beats headphones two days earlier.
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“The defendant shot Harris until the gun was empty,” Allegheny County Deputy District Attorney Ryan Kiray said in court, according to the Tribune-Review.
When detectives asked why he kicked and stomped on Harris after the shooting, Kiray said Perry responded, “If you’re going to shoot someone, you may as well finish the job,” and laughed, according to the Tribune-Review.
Investigators previously alleged Perry fired 11 rounds during the attack, according to court records and the outlets.
The fatal shooting prompted Oliver Citywide Academy to transition to remote learning for several weeks before students were relocated for the following school year, according to the Post-Gazette.
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