Paul Burkert sentenced in fight, deadly shooting outside Pat's Steaks in South Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Reading man was sentenced to prison Wednesday for his involvement in a deadly shooting outside a popular Philadelphia cheesesteak shop.
David Padro Jr., 22, of Camden, New Jersey, was shot and killed by outside Pat's King of Steaks in July 2021.
Simply put, the judge said this was a "simple issue" over a parking space where people got angry and a life is lost.
Padro's family left the Criminal Justice Center sad, disappointed and wondering if more could have been done to calm tensions between the two men that deadly night.
Their son's confessed killer, 38-year-old Paul Burkert, received 3 1/2 to 10 years in jail for his role in the fatal shooting outside Pat's Steaks.
Burkert faced decades in jail but pleaded to a voluntary manslaughter charge, which brought significantly less time.
The judge said nobody in the courtroom would be happy with his sentencing decision.
"You got a little bit of time for my son's life and to me, justice wasn't served the way it should've been, said the victim's father, David Padro, Sr. "He has 3 1/2 to 10 years for my son, that's a little bit of sentencing for what he did to my son. It's not good at all."
Burkert and Padro got into a heated argument and a fight over a parking space.
Padro, who witnesses said was intoxicated, was egged on by Burkert, according to testimony.
Burkert's friend, Jamie Frick, who had initially been charged with murder, pleaded guilty to assault after she acknowledged smacking Padro over the head with a metal container.
It's at that moment, Burkert, after freeing himself from a headlock, drew a handgun from his waistband and fired a shot, killing Padro.
Frick was sentenced to probation.
"I just miss my son and I will never be the same," said Pedro Jr.'s mom, Enid Martinez. "I have to go to therapy and I still have all of these panic attacks and anxiety."
An attorney for the family called on Pat's Steaks to develop a security plan in the wake of a handful of violent confrontations outside the popular South Philadelphia staple.
"This is not something that happened over the course of a minute or two, and I wrapped it in a gunfire. This is something the video shows happened over extended period of time and was a perfect opportunity for security to intervene," said Andrew Mitnick, the attorney for the Padro family.
Messages left for the owner of Pat's Steaks' weren't returned. Family members of Burkert and Frick declined to speak with CBS News Philadelphia.
A spokesperson for District Attorney Larry Krasner said the office is not pleased with the sentence and they declined to make someone available for an on camera interview.
