Driver in fatal Washington shooting sentenced to 17 to 34 years in prison
The man behind the wheel during a Washington drive-by shooting that killed a woman sitting on her porch will spend the next 17 to 34 years in a state penitentiary.
Brandon Ronald Allen, 34, of Washington, appeared before Washington County Judge Valarie Costanzo for his sentencing Friday morning. Earlier this year a jury acquitted Allen for the death of 58-year-old Kristen Barfield while finding him guilty of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, conspiracy and two counts of reckless endangerment.
On May 11, 2022, Allen drove two teenagers past Barfield’s home at 219 Ridge Ave. Juan Worthey III fired multiple shots from the backseat, striking and killing Barfield as she sat on her front porch. Allen fired a single shot from the driver’s seat.
Worthey, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty last month to third-degree murder.
Also in the back of the car was Tyriq Xavier Moss, who was 15 when the shooting occurred. Charges against Moss, of Washington, were dropped this week after he testified against Allen at his trial.
The intended target of the shooting had been Trey Willis, Barfield’s son.
Deputy District Attorney John Friedmann asked Costanzo to sentence Allen to 27 to 54 years in prison. Costanzo, however, disagreed with Friedmann’s interpretation of the sentencing guidelines.
When Costanzo handed down the sentence, several members of Barfield’s family stood and walked out of the courtroom while Costanzo urged them to stay and let her finish her explanation.
“It is the maximum I can do in each offense,” Costanzo said.
Outside the courtroom Courtney Ellis, Barfield’s daughter, expressed anger at the judge’s decision.
“We don’t think we got justice,” Ellis said.
Ellis was one of several relatives who provided victim impact statements prior to Allen’s sentencing. She looked at Allen, who sat in the courtroom shackled and wearing an orange jumpsuit, as she described how he had once been a close family friend.
“We broke bread with you. I grew up with you. Had it not been for you putting them young kids in that car that day, my mother would still be here,” Ellis said.
Charles “Larry” Dickerson was also sitting on the porch with Barfield, his girlfriend, when the shooting took place. Allen had also been acquitted of an attempted murder charge as the jury was unconvinced the bullet he fired had come close to striking Dickerson.
He told the court that he had been affected by the shooting “in ways that are impossible to explain.”
“She wasn’t just the one I loved. She was my best friend, my partner and my future,” Dickerson said.
Sharon Willis, Barfield’s mother, described how happy Barfield had been the day after spending it with her granddaughter. Willis called her daughter a “sweet, gentle soul.”
She also accused Allen of continuing to harass the family following the shooting.
“After this happened we continued for a week and a half to get phone threats, video threats from Brandon Allen. My daughter’s life wasn’t enough. He wanted to kill the family. He wanted to kill us all,” Willis said. “We had to stay in hotels to protect our young ones. We had to put off the funeral for days. We had to have police presence near her funeral.”
In a brief allocution statement, Allen was resigned to receiving the maximum possible sentence.
“I don’t deserve the grace of God and the peace he has given me,” Allen said. “There are no words I can say to make it better. I can only make it worse.”
Since his arrest in 2022 Allen has been incarcerated in the Washington County jail without bond. He will be transported to a state penitentiary to serve his sentence.
Worthey, now 20, of Grove City, is scheduled to be sentenced by Costanzo at 10 a.m. July 29.