close
close

topicnews · August 28, 2024

Last of five defendants in Erie, Pennsylvania shooting sentenced from 2023

Last of five defendants in Erie, Pennsylvania shooting sentenced from 2023

play

The last of five defendants in two gang-related shootings in Erie in February 2023 was sentenced to prison on Tuesday, authorities said, ending a lengthy investigation into the incidents that rocked two city neighborhoods.

Anfernee K. Graves, 22, was sentenced Tuesday morning by Erie County Judge John J. Mead to 11½ to 23 months in prison, followed by two years of probation. He was convicted in June after pleading guilty to aggravated assault on one of the counts and a misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment on the second.

The verdict on Tuesday concludes a comprehensive investigation into the shooting of a child. Erie police were able to quickly identify the perpetrator, said Deputy District Attorney Jeremy Lightner after the hearing.

“It makes the community safer,” he said.

The two shootings occurred over two days in early February 2023. The first incident occurred on the evening of February 6, when numerous shots were fired at an occupied home on Poplar Street. Case information and court testimony indicate that the home shot at was adjacent to the intended target, the home of a 15-year-old boy who was reportedly affiliated with another gang.

The second shooting occurred on the afternoon of February 8, when shots were fired from a passing SUV in the area of ​​West 29th and Cherry Streets, near Erie High School. A 14-year-old boy was injured in the shooting.

Investigators eventually charged five people in connection with the shooting. According to testimony in court, the five belonged to another gang in Erie.

Kremeer K. Thompson, then 17, who was accused of firing a gun in both incidents, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and other charges in January and was sentenced in March to 10½ to 30 years in prison.

Jamaica A. Boyd, who was 20 at the time and was charged with both shootings, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and other charges in January and was sentenced in May to six to 12 years in prison.

Saron D. Tate, then 22 years old and charged only with the Poplar Street shooting, pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to discharge a firearm into an inhabited structure and was sentenced to 11.5 to 23 months in prison, followed by two years of probation.

Graves and another co-defendant, Elijah R. Ward, both testified for the prosecution during preliminary hearings for Thompson, Boyd and Tate in May 2023.

Ward, who was 21 at the time, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and weapons charges and was sentenced earlier this month to 11.5 to 23 months in prison, followed by three years’ probation.

Contact Tim Hahn at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ETNhahn

You may also like...