Devonte William Gantt, a 22-year-old Black male from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, died on January 4, 2015, after a violent encounter on the 700 block of High Street in Lancaster City. What began as a planned marijuana transaction turned into a deadly shooting that left Gantt dead in a backyard and two other men wounded. Online reports said Gantt had been visiting his infant son that evening, and his death was described by those close to him as the sudden loss of a young father with much of his life
still ahead of him.
According to police and later court accounts, Gantt was with Amos Clay III when the two met Stefon Landing for the drug transaction. Investigators said the meeting deteriorated when Landing tried to take the marijuana rather than complete the deal. During the confrontation, Landing shot Gantt. Clay then pulled out a gun and returned fire, striking Landing, while Clay was also shot in the leg. Gantt ran or made his way into a nearby backyard, where he was later found dead. Landing went to Lancaster General Hospital with a gunshot wound to his torso, and police connected him to the same shooting.
Both Stefon Landing and Amos Clay III were arrested after the incident, but their cases were treated differently. Landing was accused of the fatal shooting and faced criminal homicide charges. Clay, who survived after being shot in the leg, faced felony weapons-related charges because he had been armed during the encounter. Police said Clay’s role included returning fire after Gantt was shot, and his account later became important in the prosecution’s case against Landing.
Landing went to trial in 2015. Prosecutors argued that he had tried to rob Gantt during the marijuana deal and shot him when the situation turned violent. Landing’s defense disputed that version and claimed self-defense, arguing that Clay fired first. A jury ultimately rejected Landing’s version of events and found him guilty of third-degree murder and related charges, including charges connected to the shooting of Clay.
In November 2015, Landing was sentenced to 22½ to 45 years in prison. A judge also ordered him to pay restitution reported at more than $23,000. The sentence reflected both the killing of Gantt and the violence that injured Clay during the same episode. Reports also noted that Landing had pleaded guilty to robbery and illegal firearm possession only weeks before Gantt was killed.
Landing continued to challenge the conviction after sentencing. He sought relief in Pennsylvania courts and argued, among other things, that he should receive a new trial because he acted in self-defense and because of issues he raised about trial counsel and jury instructions. Those efforts were denied. The Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected his request for relief, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court did not allow a further appeal, and later federal habeas proceedings also failed to overturn the conviction. As a result, the conviction and prison sentence remained in place.
Gantt’s death was remembered not only as a criminal case, but as the loss of a young Lancaster man and father. He had been a J.P. McCaskey High School graduate, played basketball, and was remembered by family as someone with dreams for his future. The legal record closed with Landing held responsible for the shooting, but the story left behind was one of a brief encounter on a Lancaster street that ended with a young man dead, another wounded, and the shooter sent to prison for decades.
