4 Sentenced In Connection With 10-Year-Old's Fatal Shooting
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) – Four men were sentenced Monday in connection with a 10-year-old girl's shooting death in March 2014 in Washington County.
Ta'Niyah Thomas was shot and killed during an attempted home invasion on West Chestnut Street in the City of Washington.
Malik Thomas, 21, Anthian Goehring, 29, Douglas Cochran Jr., 19, and Richard White, 19, were all charged in the case.
Cochran was sentenced to 22 to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to third-degree murder, conspiracy and robbery on Monday as his trial was about to begin.
Goehring also pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison.
Thomas and White pleaded guilty to several charges, including conspiracy to commit homicide. Thomas was sentenced to 4 to 8 years in prison, while White was sentenced to 3 to 6 years.
Police said the suspects thought people inside of the apartment had money, and they fired shots through a closed door.
Ta'Niyah heard the commotion, got out of her bed and walked in the hallway, heading for her mother's bedroom. She was hit by two bullets fired through the door.
Following his daughter's death, Curtis Thomas Jr. said he wanted people to remember his daughter as more than just a shooting victim.
"What I'm focused on, you know, is speaking for my child because in these newscasts everybody says poor 10-year-old child killed in a home invasion. That's my daughter's legacy? Not at all. My daughter was more than that. A straight A student, she was funny, she was popular. She was athletic, she was beautiful. She was so much more than just a victim," Thomas said.
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