LANCASTER – A Lancaster city juvenile pleaded guilty to shooting death of 23-year-old Rolando Rivera in the 500 block of Third Street on August 27, 2021. Elijahuwon Brown, now 16 of the 700 block of Manor Street, pleaded guilty to charges of criminal homicide, possession of firearm by a minor, and person not to possess a firearm before a Lancaster County judge, who accepted the open plea and will order sentencing after a pre-sentence investigation is completed. The crime of first-degree murder normally carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole. Brown faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, but because he was under the age of 15 when he committed the murder, he’s not subject to the mandatory life sentence that adults are. The minimum sentence Brown faces is 25 years. Detectives located video footage showing Brown and Rivera in the 500 and 600 blocks of Manor Street prior to the homicide. The footage also captured the shooter raising a firearm and shooting multiple times at the victim. Brown was charged, arrested, and arraigned on September 2, 2021, and committed to Lancaster County Prison without bail.
ELIJAHUWON BROWN