Lansdowne man who shot at FBI task force officer gets 15-year prison sentence

A 26-year-old Lansdowne man was sentenced on Thursday to 15 years in federal prison for attempting to shoot an FBI task force officer during a 2013 raid.

Shamarr Pitts was convicted in May of charges stemming from his attempts to fight off agents who had come to arrest him in connection to a shooting at the Purple Orchid, Southwest Philadelphia gentlemen's club.

When a Philadelphia police detective, detailed to the FBI, found Pitts hiding behind a bedroom door, Pitts pointed a gun at the detective's head and attempted to fire twice. The gun did not discharge. Agents retreated and Pitts eventually surrendered to arrest.

In addition to the prison term imposed Thursday, Pitts was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and sentenced to three years' probation upon his release. - Jeremy Roebuck