2nd Teen Sentenced In Shooting Of West Philly 12-Year-Old
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A West Philadelphia teenager has been sentenced to five to ten years in prison for his role in the near-fatal shooting of a neighborhood boy early last year.
The victim, 12-year-old Jerome Sims, was shot through the heart at point-blank range as he sat in the family car near 61st and Spruce Streets.
Prosecutor Jason Kadish says defendant Christian Williams, who pointed out the car as it pulled up, and triggerman Shaheem Willis were out to avenge an earlier shooting committed by Sims' older stepbrother. The boy, Jerome, had not been involved.
Kadish says Willis was sentenced earlier to 20 to 40 years in prison.
"The judge took everything into account," said Kadish on Friday. "Today I think the judge also took into account the fact that Christian Williams acknowledged his role at the bar of the court, which is something that Shaheem Willis never did."
A tearful Williams, 18, apologized in court, saying he hopes in the future to give something positive to the community he has harmed.
Reported by Tony Hanson, KYW Newsradio 1060.
