Babysitter Accused Of Providing Gun In Teen's Fatal Shooting Will Serve Jail Time
Follow KDKA-TV: Facebook | Twitter
GREENSBURG (KDKA) -- A babysitter accused of providing the gun that a Westmoreland County teenager used to kill another teenager will serve jail time.
The family of J.R. Gustafson say they've been awaiting this day since the teen's shooting in March of 2016. They believe Brooke Nelson was responsible for the boy's death and they wanted her behind bars.
They got their wish Friday.
Facing five counts of child endangerment and reckless endangerment, 20-year-old Nelson entered the Westmoreland County courthouse a free woman. She would not leave that way.
"Knowing that she took an innocent boy away from us, I want her to feel the pain because I think she deserves that," Leah Gustafson, the victim's mother, said.
Nelson was sentenced to 11 and a half to 23 months in jail after pleading guilty to providing then 14-year-old John Burnsworth with the gun he used to kill 13-year-old Gustafson inside a Mount Pleasant home on March 20, 2016.
"She either handed him the gun to him or told him where the gun was and told him what to do with the gun," Mark Gustafson, the victim's father, said. "I think she's 100 percent responsible for the whole thing."
Nelson's sentencing hearing saw Leah take the stand, letting Judge Rita Hathaway and Nelson know what her son's loss has done to her family.
"It's very challenging for us to go through each day, especially my boys and my daughter, our whole family," she said.
Right before sentencing, a tearful Nelson apologized to Leah and Mark. For the still-grieving couple, it was too little too late.
"She had the freedom to do it two years ago, never did it," Mark said.
After that, the Ruffsdale woman was cuffed and taken to the Westmoreland County Jail to begin her sentence.
"That's the best feeling in two years, seeing her in handcuffs," Mark said.
In addition to a prison term, Nelson was ordered to complete her GED as well as receive alcohol and mental health treatment.
