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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The only trace of emotion Amir Edwards showed Monday was to bow his head as a judge sentenced him to 24 to 48 years in state prison in part for sinking a knife into the back of a county prosecutor&#8217;s only brother.</p><p>Edwards, 24, of North Pine Street, Hazleton, was sentenced in Luzerne County Court on charges stemming from three cases, including the fatal 2014 stabbing of 27-year-old Zachary John Richards, younger brother of Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Justin Richards.</p><p>Prosecutors say Edwards buried an 8-inch serrated knife into Zachary Richards&#8217; back following an argument.</p><p>Justin Richards fought through tears as he described how the killing brought him to a crossroads between being a prosecutor and being a brother. He said his brother&#8217;s life choices led him to meet Edwards, but &#8220;that doesn&#8217;t diminish the type of person my brother was or what he meant to the people that are here supporting him.&#8221;</p><p>More than two dozen people packed the courtroom gallery, including family, friends, county prosecutors and other members of the district attorney&#8217;s office, many of whom broke into tears as Justin Richards detailed how his brother&#8217;s sudden death left his still-grieving family wondering what could have been.</p><p>&#8220;The thing that hurts me the most is not the loss of my brother&#8217;s life &#8230; but the loss of the potential of what my brother&#8217;s life could have been,&#8221; Justin Richards said.</p><p>Edwards offered a brief, soft-spoken apology to Zachary Richards&#8217; family, but was otherwise apathetic as Richards&#8217; family delivered searing testimony in their pursuit of the maximum prison sentence.</p><p>&#8220;He wanted to act like a caged animal by harming and killing people, then let him sit in a cage,&#8221; older sister Amanda Richards said.</p><p>Zachary Richards&#8217; mother, Bridget DeFalco, glanced at Edwards and said she saw &#8220;a man with no soul and no concern for the damage done to my family.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;He took my life, too,&#8221; DeFalco said of Edwards.</p><p>Edwards on Sept. 26. <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/590821/hazleton-man-pleads-guilty-to-fatal-stabbing-of-assistant-das-brother" target="_blank">pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in the case</a>, prosecuted by the state Office of Attorney General due to the brothers&#8217; relationship. Edwards sunk his head Monday as Judge Thomas F. Burke Jr. handed down a 20- to 40-year sentence on the charge.</p><p>&#8220;The defendant&#8217;s actions were a senseless, brutal act &#8230; and had a monumental impact on all concerned,&#8221; Burke said.</p><p>DeFalco, who said she had been waiting two years to speak out against her son&#8217;s killer, took exception to the defense&#8217;s &#8220;audacity&#8221; in calling expert witness Dr. Richard Fischbein, who testified at the start of the hearing that Edwards suffers from &#8220;mild psychotic symptoms.&#8221;</p><p>Edwards&#8217; attorney, John Pike, urged Burke to consider a sentence that protects society while offering a chance at rehabilitation.</p><p>Deputy Attorney General Daniel J. Dye argued there are &#8220;thousands of people who suffer from disorders that don&#8217;t stab people to death.&#8221; Edwards, Dye said, was a threat to the public who carried out a cowardly killing.</p><p>&#8220;This is a man who, throughout the entire proceeding, has shown little expression at all while everyone in the courtroom has been moved by this tragedy,&#8221; Dye said. &#8220;Few crimes represent cowardice as much as stabbing a man in the back and fleeing into the night.&#8221;</p><p>Zachary Richards was <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/archive/236145/news-news-50570797-stabbing-suspect-bound-for-court" target="_blank">found with a knife sticking out of his back</a> inside 615 Cleveland St. in Hazleton on Sept. 11, 2014.</p><p>A witness who lives at the residence told police Edwards was at their home about two hours prior to the stabbing and got into a physical altercation with his sister. Zachary Richards, who also had been staying at the residence, woke up from the noise and ordered Edwards to leave.</p><p>Edwards, however, returned to the house about an hour later, police said. A confrontation ensued and Edwards stabbed Zachary Richards once. Edwards allegedly admitted to the stabbing, but said it was because the victim had pointed a rifle at him, according to police.</p><p>Edwards was sentenced to an additional four to eight years on charges he assaulted and robbed an elderly woman. Burke sentenced him to time served on a misdemeanor of resisting arrest and drug charges.</p><p>Edwards declined comment as he was led out of the courthouse and remanded.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Amir Edwards, 24, of Hazleton, is led into the Luzerne County Courthouse Monday for sentencing in part for the fatal stabbing of 27-year-old Zachary Richards, brother of county Assistant District Attorney Justin Richards. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_IMG_4620-8.jpg</photo0><caption0>Amir Edwards, 24, of Hazleton, is led into the Luzerne County Courthouse Monday for sentencing in part for the fatal stabbing of 27-year-old Zachary Richards, brother of county Assistant District Attorney Justin Richards. </caption0><photoCredit0>Joe Dolinsky | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>ON THE WEB</strong></p><p>Find video of Edwards after his sentencing attached to this story at timesleader.com.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL.</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table class="mceItemTable" style="border:none;width:98%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;">UoSICsl7dEs</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;">YOUTUBE</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoSICsl7dEs</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;">&lt;iframe width=&#8221;560&#8221; height=&#8221;315&#8221; src=&#8221;https://www.youtube.com/embed/UoSICsl7dEs&#8221; frameborder=&#8221;0&#8221; allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;">Amir Edwards declined to comment after he was sentenced Monday in Luzerne County Court to 24 to 48 years in state prison for third-degree murder and other charges.</p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;">Joe Dolinsky | Times Leader</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

Man who fatally stabbed county prosecutor’s brother is sentenced