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    • Shooter of 7-year-old Pa. boy gets 60 years. He asked for more.
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    Shooter of 7-year-old Pa. boy gets 60 years. He asked for more.

    Umito Posted on

    Abdullah O. Ismael was 17 when he killed Antonio “Espn” Yarger Jr. in a gang-related shooting in April 2022. He asked the judge to sentence him to life without the possibility of parole.

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    • Abdullah O. Ismael, 20, was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison for the April 2022 drive-by shooting death of Antonio “Espn” Yarger Jr., 7, a murder that traumatized Erie, Pennsylvania .
    • Ismael was 17 at the time of the murder, was tried as an adult and asked for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
    • Ismael was convicted of first-degree murder under the transferred intent theory because he targeted a rival gang member and not Antonio.

    A 20 year old from Erie, Pennsylvania, who killed a 7-year-old boy during a gang-related shooting, he almost got his wish that a judge would sentence him to life without the possibility of parole.

    The defendant, Abdullah O. Ismael, who was 17 when he killed Antonio “Espn” Yarger Jr. in 2022, was instead sentenced in Erie County Common Pleas Court to serve 60 years in prison at life for his crime. conviction for first degree murder.

    Ismael, who had been tried as an adult, had demanded that Judge John J. Mead sentence him to life without parole to prove how sorry Ishmael said he was for the murder and the anguish it caused Antonio’s family.

    “It was never in my heart to kill anyone, especially Antonio, especially a child,” Ismael told Mead as he asked for the sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. “I’m so sorry.”

    Mead did not comply with the request. He explained that Pennsylvania appeals courts generally discourage life sentences without the possibility of parole for defendants convicted of first-degree murder for killings committed when they were juveniles.

    Mead said a sentence of 60 years to life — in which Ismael won’t be eligible for parole until he’s about 80 — was appropriate for a murder that shocked Erie and amplified calls to combat youth and gang-related violence that has increased during the pandemic.

    “This case is a tragedy. It has affected so many people here today,” Mead told the courtroom gallery filled with friends and relatives of Antonio and Ismael.

    Nationwide, the number of homicides committed by children has increased dramatically, jumping 65% – from 315 in 2016 to 521 in 2022, USA TODAY reported. Juvenile gun-related crimes also increased by 20 percent, sparking concern from experts and calls for more prevention efforts.

    Youth gun violence: How a ‘horrible perfect storm’ fueled a 65% increase in child homicides

    Shooter convicted under transfer of intent theory

    Ismael targeted a rival gang member, not Antonio, in a drive-by shooting on April 14, 2022. Antonio — he was nicknamed “Espn,” after the sports network, for his love of sports — received shot in the head while walking with friends on the sidewalk near his home just south of Rodger Young Park in Erie around 7:40 p.m.

    “It happened because you were hunting a member of a rival gang,” Mead told Ismael. “A young man or boy would have died one way or another.”

    Ismael faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years in prison for committing premeditated homicide when he was a minor. Had he been an adult, he would have received a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Lightner, argued at trial that Ismael was guilty of first-degree murder under the transfer of intent theory. He said Ismael shot and killed Antonio when he intended to kill his rival.

    The jury agreed. The panel concluded a four-day trial by finding Ismael guilty of first-degree murder after deliberating for approximately two hours on August 23.

    A dream and a nightmare

    Lightner asked Mead to sentence Ismael to at least 77 years in prison, a sentence consistent with another recent case in which an Erie County defendant was convicted of first degree murder as a juvenile.

    For killing an innocent child, Lightner said, Ismael deserved a sentence long enough to amount to life without parole.

    “There is so much sadness in this courtroom,” Lightner said. “All this sadness exists because of Abdullah Ismael.”

    Memory of a 7 year old child: Obituary of Antonio “Espn” Romellz Yarger, Jr.

    “Antonio is the dream of what we want our children to be,” Lightner also said. “Abdullah is a nightmare. He is an example of what happens when you don’t care about the community.”

    Ismael’s attorney, Eric Hackwelder, asked for a sentence no more than the mandatory minimum of 35 years. He said Ismael was immature and impulsive when he killed Antonio, but he can change.

    Ismael, originally from Iraq, came to the United States when he was 3 years old. As a teenager, Ismael began using drugs and making friends who had no influence, Hackwelder said.

    “I think the streets got him,” he said.

    He opposed a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Abdullah’s request, Hackwelder said, “is not in his best interest.”

    “Here I am, I ask for forgiveness”

    Ismael testified as the defense’s only witness at his trial. He said the killing was an accident. He said he intended to shoot at the ground when the car he was in made a sharp turn and caused him to shoot wildly.

    Ismael reiterated his accidental shooting allegations last week while apologizing to Antonio’s mother and other family members.

    At the end of his speech, he described himself as “young, mute and lost” but so sincere in his remorse that he wanted a sentence that would keep him in prison until he died.

    “Here I am, asking forgiveness for all my wrongs,” Ishmael said to Mead, “and I ask you to sentence me to life.”

    Contributor: N’Dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY.

    Contact [email protected] or follow him on @ETNpalattella.

    Umito
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