Markez Anger and Londell Falconer murdered 18-month-old De’Avry Thomas in a botched drive-by shooting. (Mug shot: Allegheny County District Attorney)
A judge sentenced two men to life in prison without the possibility of parole for shooting and killing an 18-month-old boy in a botched drive-by shooting.
Authorities said the defendants, Markez Anger, 24, and Londell Falconer Jr., 27, did not target the victim, De’Avry Thomas, 18 months old, and yet the toddler is dead all the same.
“After hearing the verdict and what’s going to happen to them, I got a piece of relief, but it’s never going to be all the way,” the child’s mother, Deashea Green, said after the trial, according to a July 7 report from Pittsburgh ABC affiliate WTAE. “I’m not going to ever heal, ever.”
“De’Avry was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in downtown Pittsburgh on May 29, 2022,” Allegheny County prosecutors said. “According to the criminal complaint, Anger and Falconer were driving a Jeep Compass downtown when one of the men opened fire on a parked Jeep at the intersection of Fourth Ave. and Stanwix St. De’Avry was shot multiple times while strapped into a car seat in the back of the Jeep. He was not the intended target.”
Neither was his mother.
The shooting launched a short search for the killers. Authorities soon identified Falconer and Anger as the suspects.
Falconer was arrested on May 30. Authorities arrested Anger on June 5, in the village of Turtle Creek, which is about 11 miles east of Pittsburgh.
“The evidence in this case proved guilt beyond doubt and was irrefutable thanks to the investigative work of the Pittsburgh Police,” Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said. “This was a heinous, senseless crime that resulted in the loss of an innocent child’s life. We are pleased with the sentencing outcome, and our hearts go out to the family of De’Avry during this time.”
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Judge Bruce Beemer called the murder a “brazen, reckless and intentional act” that killed a child, according to The Associated Press.
Anger and Falconer still say they’re innocent. At the hearing, they criticized their attorneys and voiced plans to seek retrial. Anger said he was sorry to the relatives for what they have been going through. Falconer said he knew De’Avery for the child’s entire life and knew from the time De’Avery was born “how amazing he was going to be.”
Both men were also convicted of aggravated assault, attempted homicide, and conspiracy to commit homicide. Anger, who was convicted of firearms charges as well, received a prison sentence of 22-and-a-half to 45 years on top of his life term. Falconer received 15 to 30 years with his life sentence.
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