Convicted Walmart shooter arrives in court with a disturbing tattoo of tombstones bearing names of survivors of the attack as he is sentenced to up to 358 years in jail

Scott Sargent, 33, was convicted in October of nearly two dozen counts stemming from October 2015 shootout in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Beside Sargent himself, no one was injured in the attack
A judge on Thursday ordered the sentences be served consecutively, meaning Sargent faces a minimum of 179 years in prison to a maximum of 358 years
Sargent appeared in court sporting a new tattoo on his left forearm depicting five tombstones with names of shootout survivors, with a skull overhead

Published: 15:33 GMT, 15 December 2017 | Updated: 18:22 GMT, 15 December 2017

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A man convicted of shooting at police officers outside a Pennsylvania Walmart in 2015 arrived in court for his sentencing on Thursday with a disturbing jailhouse tattoo on his forearm featuring tombstones bearing the names of his would-be victims.

Scott Sargent, 33, was found guilty in October of nearly two dozen charges stemming from the October 2015 shootout in Wilkes-Barre, including attempted murder of a police officer, aggravated assault and reckless endangering.

A judge on Thursday ordered that the sentences on most of the charges be served consecutively, meaning the Shenandoah man faces a minimum of 179 years in prison to a maximum of 358 years.

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Guilty: Scott Sargent, 33, was sentenced to 179 years to 358 years in prison for opening fire outside a crowded Walmart in Pennsylvania in 2015. Pictured: Sargent arrives in court in handcuffs for his sentencing on Thursday

'Disgraceful': While in jail, Sargent had someone ink this tattoo, which depicts a skull hovering over five tombstones bearing the names of his would-be victims

A close-up look at Sargent's macabre body art depicting a graveyard

Sargent is pictured above during an earlier court hearing, before he had his arm inked

At his trial this fall, Sargent testified that he didn’t see any officers on October 17, 2015, and was firing warning shots

Luzerne County prosecutors say police exchanged fire with Sargent in the crowded Wilkes-Barre township parking lot near Walmart, wounding him.

During Thursday’s sentencing hearing at the Luzerne County Courthouse, which was attended by the survivors of the shoot-out and their loved ones, prosecutor Jarrett Ferentino drew the court's attention to the defendant's macabre body art, which was inked on his left arm sometime after his conviction, reported WNEP 16.

'We learned that he received a tattoo with five tombstones with the names of his victims that survived his attack, with a skeleton skull over the tombstones,' Ferentino said, noting that in his 15 years as a prosecutor, he has never seen anything like that.

'I thought the tattoo was deplorable. I think it's disrespectful but it speaks volumes of who he is and what his intentions were that day.'

Ferentino added that the image etched into the gunman’s skin will serve a daily reminder of his failure.

‘He failed to put them [the officers] in their graves… I want him to be reminded every single day those individuals are why he’s spending every day in jail,’ the prosecutor said.

Wilkes-Barre Township Police Officer Brian Bouton, who was nearly killed when one of the bullets fired by Sargent struck the headrest in his vehicle, echoed Ferentino’s sentiments concerning the defendant’s tattoo, which he labelled a disgrace.

Police are seen working at the scene of the shootout outside a Walmrt in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsilvania, on October 17, 2015

No one was killed during the incident, but one of the bullets fired by Sargent narrowly missed a police officer

‘The rest of his life he has to look at our names on his arm and remind him that he's incarcerated and doesn't have the freedom and that he failed his mission,’ Bouton said.

Police officer Alan Gribble, who shot Sargent in the abdomen during the incident, called his tattoo 'pathetic' and said that when he first heard of it, he thought it was a joke, reported The Citizens' Voice.

Never forget: A prosecutor said the disrespectful tattoo on Sargent's forearm will serve a daily reminder of his failure

When asked if he wished to speak in court, Sargent shook his head and kept mum, never issuing an apology for his actions.

His defense attorney asked the judge to take Sargent’s history of addiction and mental health issues into account when deciding on a sentence.

Joseph Yeager said that his client was an orphan, and that the passing of his mother a short time before the Walmart shooting was ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back,’ according to a Wilkes-Barre Times Leader report.

Sargent was given credit for 790 days served in jail since his arrest. He will spend the rest of his days behind bars.

At his trial this fall, Sargent testified that he didn’t see any officers on October 17, 2015, and was firing warning shots, believing he was being followed.

Defense attorney Melissa Sulima argued in her closing argument that there was no evidence that her client was trying to kill officers.

She suggested that her client was trying to protect his girlfriend and, while acknowledging that his actions were reckless and irrational, said he wasn’t actually trying to harm anyone. Sulima also pointed out that he didn’t shoot anyone, even officer Gribble, with whom he came face-to-face with before that officer shot him with a shotgun.

Damaged: His defense attorney asked the judge to take Sargent’s history of addiction and mental health issues into account

Ferentino, however, cited shots flying past the officer’s head and other shots that hit police vehicles being used to shield other officers as proof that Sargent was trying to kill them.

‘He didn’t shoot Officer Gribble because Officer Gribble was quicker on the draw. That’s it,’ Ferentino said. ‘You don’t get points for missing, and you don’t get points for being slow on the draw.