Mattison sentenced to death for York City killing
Kevin "Yummy" Mattison will be sentenced to death for killing a York City drug dealer.
The jury this morning found him guilty of all charges related to the 2008 slaying; then determined this afternoon that he should be executed for the crime.
Family members cried after the sentence was read, and Mattison turned to tell them he loved them as sheriff deputies led him away.
Jurors deliberated about three hours Thursday evening and Friday morning before announcing they'd found Mattison guilty of first-degree murder, two counts of robbery, and burglary.
Friday afternoon, they deliberated on whether the defendant will face the death penalty or life in prison.
Prosecutor Tim Barker said the jury had to weigh whether the aggravating circumstances of the case -- the fact that the murder was committed in the perpetration of a felony and the fact that Mattison has already served time for murder -- reached the level necessary to warrant the death penalty in Pennsylvania.
Mattison pleaded guilty in Baltimore to the equivalent of Pennsylvania's third-degree murder in the mid-1990s, when he was 17.
He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with the final 10 years suspended, prosecutors said; he also has a pending rape charge in Maryland.
The jury was also told to consider mitigating circumstances, and whether those outweigh the aggravating circumstances. Defense attorneys called Mattison's mother and sisters to testify about his upbringing. They suggested his childhood and teen years were defined by an abusive father and an illness that left his mother unable to care for him.
Mattison, 34, of Baltimore, was found guilty of breaking into the 610 W. Philadelphia St. home of Christian Agosto, robbing him of a pound of marijuana and shooting him in the head.
Reach Christina Kauffman at 505-5436 or follow her on Twitter at @dispatchbizwiz.
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