SCRANTON -- A man from Scranton received the maximum sentence on Wednesday for the murder of a Lackawanna College student last year.
His accomplice was also sentenced to state prison.
The accomplice, Marlon Clotter of Scranton, was sentenced to between seven and 17 years in prison for supplying the gun that was used to kill Rahsan Crowder.
The shooter, Ryan Harding, received the maximum sentence: 23 and a half years to 47 years and that may be because of what he said to the judge about the murder.
The murder victim, Rahsan Crowder, 22, of Harrisburg would have been the first man in his family to get a college degree.
His mother and three college-bound sisters received his posthumous degree shortly after Crowder was shot and killed in May or 2013.
At the sentencing for Crowder's killers, his family spent a lot of time talking about that untapped potential.
"They all said, 'if Rahsan made it, then it means we all made it.' They pushed him, they didn't want him to do anything negative. They wanted him to do positive. They didn't want him to be in the prison system and just out doing anything. They wanted him to go to school," said the victim's mother Latoni Crowder.
"This isn't a setback for us. It's just more inspiration for us to get done what we have to get done for our brother, because he wasn't able to finish it," said Aija Crowder, Rahsan's sister.
Crowder was still a few semesters from graduating when he was shot and killed only feet from his Lackawanna College dorm room in Scranton's hill section. He was shot, witnesses said, because he shot a dirty look across the street.
Marlon Clotter of Scranton, 21, pleaded guilty to supplying the gun. He was sentenced to seven to 17 years behind bars.
Ryan Harding, 19, shot Crowder twice and pleaded guilty to third degree murder.
In sentencing, Harding said he shot to defend himself that night. Then he recited Pennsylvania law for several minutes trying to argue that the judge was not sentencing him properly.
Prosecutors say that showed Harding's true colors.
"I just think it was fun to watch the judge hand him a shovel and then watch him dig the maximum hole. He did it to himself today," said Lackawanna County Assistant District Attorney Shane Scanlan.
Harding received the maximum sentence for his crimes: 23 and a half to 47 years behind bars.
"He just can't help himself. He is what he is and it showed crystal clear today in the courtroom," added Lackawanna County Assistant District Attorney Bob Klein.
Rahsan Crowder's family told us that Lackawanna College set up a scholarship fund in Rahsan's honor after his death. His sister plans to attend Lackawanna College next year.