2 found guilty in drive-by shooting death of 18-month-old De'Avry Thomas
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The two men accused of killing a toddler during a drive-by shooting in Pittsburgh last year will spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Markez Anger and Londell Falconer were found guilty in the murder of 18-month-old De'Avry Thomas. They were found guilty on all counts.
On May 22, 2022, Thomas died after being shot near PPG Place along 4th Avenue. Thomas was shot while inside a Jeep, police said. He died at the scene.
Since that moment, Deashea Green's life has been a living hell.
"It's never going to go away," the boy's mother said Wednesday.
She was in the courtroom on Wednesday when Falconer and Anger heard they would spend the rest of their lives in jail for what they did.
"I had to think about my son in that moment," Green said.
Also in the courtroom Wednesday was Kahlil Darden, the child's godfather.
"I had a sense of relief, but I still feel like none of this brings De'Avry back," he said. "We'll never get to spend time with him. We'll never get to hold him again."
Darden said he is set to open something he hopes will produce something positive out of something so terrible.
"I'll be opening a community center," he said. "The name will be the Young Black-Motivated Kings and Queens De' Avry A. Thomas Community Center."
The activity center will be along Penn School Road in Penn Hills.
"I want it to be a one-stop shop for youth in the community," Darden said. "We'll offer different things, from arts and crafts to culinary to STEM programming, art studios — all these different things so kids can explore things that they do."
And while none of this can bring Thomas back, his mother says it will honor his short life and give other kids opportunities her child was robbed of in yet another act of senseless violence. And despite her pain, Green says she will keep moving forward and she won't be alone in the effort.
Darden says he hopes to have the community center up and running within the next year.