Jovaun Patterson walked into the courtroom with a smile on his face and said hello to his family before pleading guilty to attempted robbery, and carrying, using and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
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In May of last year, Patterson was seen on surveillance video shooting Li "Mike" Poeng with an AK-47 outside Poeng's West Philadelphia deli store.
The DA's office initially charged Patterson. One of those charges was attempted murder, but that charge was dropped after they reached a plea deal with him.
Patterson faced 3 1/2 to 10 years after that deal, a punishment the U.S. attorney's office felt was "too lenient," so they charged Patterson earlier this year.
"Under the circumstances, the pain and suffering that Mr. Poeng suffered at the hands of Mr. Patterson, that's not an appropriate sentence in our view," said Assistant United States Attorney Salvatore Astolfi.
The government is now recommending a sentence of just over 14 years.
The U.S. attorney's office was also upset because they say the DA's office did not let the victim or his family know about the agreement.
The DA's office said at the time, this was "appropriate" because the video showed a struggle over the gun before it was fired.
Patterson's sentencing is scheduled for late March.