ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The state Attorney General's Office announced that a Lehigh County man has been sentenced to prison for his role in a January 2023 shooting at a city bar.
Paul Kerr, 30, will spend the next 7 to 14 years behind bars, Attorney General Michelle Henry’s office said Wednesday.
Kerr had previously pleaded guilty to criminal attempt to commit homicide, being a person not to possess a firearm and discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure.
According to Henry's office:
An investigation by Allentown police found that Kerr entered Pagan’s Place bar, at 702 N. Jordan St., on Jan. 7, 2023. The owner, Luis Pagan, asked Kerr to leave, but Kerr refused and an argument ensued.
Police said Kerr eventually left the bar, crossed the street and turned and fired several times at the building. One bullet went through the window and four others hit the exterior wall.
Luis Pagan, who lived with his family in a residence above the bar, was not injured.
No patrons were in the bar during the time of the shooting.
“This defendant, who should not have had a gun in the first place, showed no regard for human life when he opened fire into a neighborhood bar,” Henry said in a news release.
“Fortunately, no one was physically harmed by the defendant’s gunfire, but nevertheless, these incidents can have a lasting psychological effect on those who were present. My office is committed to keeping Pennsylvanians safe, and holding those accountable who put that safety at risk through their careless and illegal use of firearms.”
The gun used in the shooting was registered to Kerr’s wife, according to Henry.
The case was referred to the Attorney General's Office by the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office.
