A Bad Family Affair: 25 to 50 Years for Andrew Quattrochi in Wawa Killing, Plus Prison for Dad and Brother

Andrew Quattrochi was sentenced Monday (Oct. 19) to 25 to 50 years for the November 2024 shooting death of 17-year-old Garrett Gearhart inside the Wawa on West Main Street in Stroudsburg, according to WNEP, whose reporter was in the courtroom. He had pleaded guilty to homicide, aggravated assault and discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure on July 20, one day before jury selection was set to begin. His father, Joseph Quattrochi, was sentenced to 4 to 10 years, and his brother, Christopher Quattrochi, to up to seven years. Both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, according to WNEP. As we reported July 21, Christopher also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit riot, and Joseph to hindering apprehension.

How it happened. As we told you in June, citing the Pocono Record, prosecutors said the Nov. 30, 2024 shooting began with a parking-lot argument between a friend of Gearhart’s and Christopher, then 19. The argument moved inside the Wawa and turned into a fight, and the fight ended with Andrew shooting Gearhart. Prosecutors said Gearhart was shot in the back while already on the floor. Andrew was arrested and charged in December 2024, according to WNEP and FOX56. Prosecutors also accused Dad of driving Andrew away from the scene, which is how Joseph ended up pleading guilty to hindering apprehension. Let’s review the family business plan: a parking-lot argument, a brawl, a homicide and Dad as the getaway driver. Add up Andrew’s and Joseph’s minimums alone and you get 29 years, which is a long time to reflect on whose idea this was. As family bonding goes, it is hard to think of a worse return on investment.

The stand your ground plan. Then came the legal strategy. The defense signaled it would ask a jury to consider Pennsylvania’s “stand your ground” law, which as we explained in June is far narrower than most people think. President Judge Jonathan Mark denied that request at a June pretrial conference, though the defense could have raised it again once the evidence was in. Standing your ground is a tough sell when prosecutors say the other person was shot in the back on the floor, and all three Quattrochis seemed to reach the same conclusion on July 20, one day before jury selection, when they pleaded guilty.

Garrett Gearhart was 17, a Stroudsburg High School senior with his whole life ahead of him. He went to the Wawa and never came home. Six of his relatives gave victim impact statements Monday, and his mother said no sentence would ever be enough. District Attorney Mike Mancuso told WNEP that Gearhart and his friends were in the wrong place at the wrong time and that none of the defendants showed genuine remorse in court. Three members of the Quattrochi family also spoke, and Andrew’s wife told WNEP the family feels remorse and offers its condolences. All three defendants declined to address the court. WNEP did not report Christopher’s minimum sentence.