The quest for justice finally came to a head inside Lackawanna County Court on Tuesday as a judge handed down sentences for Aiden Deininger and Jeremiah Cleveland. 

In the early morning hours of January 11, 2024, a crime spree through Scranton led to Detective Kyle Gilmartin being shot twice in the head.

“We are happy with the sentence imposed,” said D.A. Brian Gallagher. “We’re grateful that the court removed these individuals for as long as they did, but the reality is that no sentence, no matter how long, would have been good enough.”

More than two years after he was taken into custody, Cleveland was sentenced to 20 to 43 years in prison for aggravated assault and carrying a firearm without a license.

As for Deininger, who pleaded guilty to attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, Judge Michael Barrasse handed down the maximum sentence of 25 to 83 years for the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.

“He has to do some time for what he did. That’s expected, but, you know, we’re all just really sorry to the family,” said Hillary Deininger, Deininger’s aunt.

She says that Aiden is a good kid who got wrapped up in the wrong crowd. “We have to remember that we have to help this community by starting with teaching them what to do at young,” said Hillary.

At a news conference following the sentencings, District Attorney Brian Gallagher was joined by Scranton Deputy Police Chief Joseph Lafferty and Detective Jason Hyler.

Both men were in the car with Gilmartin when he was shot.

“Gratifying at one point that this is finally over,” said Lafferty. “Kyle and his family could put this behind him and concentrate on himself and his mental mental state.”

“Happy as we are with the actual sentence, what makes us even happier is that to get that closure that this is the end here and everybody could start moving forward with their life and kind of put this behind them,” said Hyler.

In the two years it took to get to this point, Hyler is reminded how lucky all three men are to be alive and just how inspirational Det. Kyle Gilmartin’s story is.

“I wish there was a word that I could think of to describe how inspiring it is to actually see Kyle come in there and the courage that it took for him to step into that courtroom and not only face those two individuals but to speak from the heart and in front of everyone and you know show everyone how strong he really is,” said Hyler.

While Detective Gilmartin did not speak with Newswatch 16 following the sentencing, during his victim impact statement, he did say he will continue working in the community to try and stop gang violence.