Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman wondered who he was about to sentence:
Derek Vasos, a loving father who had no criminal history. worked as a medical device salesman and was known to perform random acts of kindness for strangers?
Or Derek Vasos, the man who knowingly carried a loaded gun into a bar, got drunk, and then shot an unarmed man from inside an Uber?
"Your explanation as to how this occurred was incredible," Judge Cashman told the defendant.
He then sentenced Vasos to 15 to 30 years in prison.
Vasos, 38, was found guilty by a jury in October of third-degree murder. He tried to claim self-defense, arguing that he feared the victim in the case, Donald Ketter Jr. , 28, of Allentown, was about to attack him.
But Judge Cashman discounted those claims.
"There was no danger you were in. You weren't going to suffer serious bodily injury or death," the judge said.
At trial, testimony showed that Vasos had gotten into an Uber after leaving the after-hours Carrick Lit Club early in the morning of Feb. 5.
As the Uber was pulling away on Copperfield Avenue, its path was blocked by Mr. Ketter, who was standing in the middle of the street blocking traffic.
Vasos, who was sitting in the Uber's front, passenger seat, honked the car's horn, but Mr. Ketter didn't move.
Vasos testified that Mr. Ketter appeared to be in a rage, took off his belt and wrapped it around his hand in what he interpreted as a threat. As Mr. Ketter approached Vasos' window, Vasos said he pulled out his legally possessed gun and fired once out of fear. He then fled in the Uber, eventually turning himself in hours later.
Robin Ketter, the victim's mother, called Vasos a “coward” — not only for killing Mr. Ketter, but for fleeing the scene.
"He murdered my son and shattered my family forever," she said. "Derek Vasos showed no mercy to Donald or my family. In return, I'm asking Derek Vasos be shown no mercy."
A year after her son's death, she said, she doesn't think her life will ever return to any kind of normal.
"I thought that getting through each day meant I was closer to being able to cope with the death of my son," she said. "But I am still just going through the motions."
Several people spoke on Vasos' behalf, including family members and friends — all recounting his positive outlook and ability to cheer up those around him.
Vasos, who cried throughout the proceeding, spoke at length — repeatedly apologizing to the Ketter family, saying he prays for them every day, and asking the court to consider the good life he had led up until the shooting.
"I've gone through each and every would have, could have and should have," Vasos said. "I'm not a malicious man."
Vasos told the court he lived a “righteous” life and that his existence revolved around his two teenage children. Since he has been in the Allegheny County Jail, Vasos has continued to work hard by helping to clean and paint his pod, his attorney said, and a deputy warden there submitted a letter on his behalf.
“I am nothing like the people I have been locked up amongst,” Vasos said. “Absolutely nothing.”
Although he asked Judge Cashman for leniency, Vasos called himself "the center of so many ruined lives."
"The damage is irreparable, and I'm so sorry."
Defense attorney Phillip DiLucente asked the court to allow his client to serve his sentence at the Allegheny County Jail, which would mean less than two years incarceration.
But Judge Cashman disregarded that request, noting such a sentence would be more than five years less than the punishment called for in the mitigated range.
"There is no reason Donald Ketter should be dead," the judge said.
Mr. Ketter's family sought the maximum possible sentence for third-degree murder — 20 to 40 years in prison.
"He showed no remorse. He rendered no aid," said Alan Ketter, the victim's brother. "In my opinion, it doesn't get any more cold-blooded than that."
First Published: January 25, 2018, 6:21 p.m.
Updated: January 25, 2018, 8:48 p.m.
