Delco man pleads guilty to attempted murder for shooting inside a crowded Lower Merion bar
Montgomery County prosecutors say Andrew McCutchen shot at a man who had gotten into a fight with a friend of his earlier that day inside an American Legion bar in Ardmore.
A Darby man was sentenced to state prison Friday after Montgomery County prosecutors say he “took matters into his own hands” last Memorial Day when he fired point-blank at another man inside a crowded Lower Merion bar.
Andrew McCutchen, 45, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and gun charges for shooting Tyler Allen in the back inside the Leon Spencer Reid American Legion on Simpson Road in Ardmore. County court Judge William Carpenter sentenced him afterward to 7½ to 15 years in state prison.
McCutchen’s attorney, Keith Harbison, did not comment after the hearing.
Assistant District Attorney Robert Waeltz Jr. said McCutchen was one misfire away from a murder charge. After shooting Allen in the back, McCutchen approached the victim as he lay in the fetal position, held his Taurus 9mm handgun to Allen’s head, and pulled the trigger.
But the gun jammed and, instead, ejected the entire intact bullet, according to the prosecutor.
“That was the only reason Tyler Allen left that day when he did,” Waeltz said. “Had that not happened, this would be a first-degree murder trial.”
McCutchen went to the American Legion on May 27, 2024, after a friend of his got into a fight with Allen there, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest. The reason for the fight was unclear.
After the fight had been broken up, McCutchen’s friend told the other patrons of the bar that his “people” were on their way, the affidavit said. Not long after, McCutchen entered the bar and shot Allen.
McCutchen fled and was arrested by U.S. Marshals six weeks later in Williamsport, Lycoming County, where prosecutors say acquaintances of his live.
Waeltz said during Friday’s proceeding that Allen, 27, has not been cooperative during the investigation and declined to provide a victim-impact statement.
Allen faces gun charges in connection with the American Legion shooting because he, too, was carrying a handgun at the time — a previous conviction for drug possession made it illegal for him to own a gun. That case is pending in Montgomery County.
McCutchen was also unable to legally carry a gun at the time because of a prior robbery conviction, court records show.
“This was a bar, a popular spot for people to celebrate their otherwise peaceful holidays,” Waeltz said, “and Mr. McCutchen tossed that all aside when he decided to shoot Mr. Allen.”