PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — One of the men charged with shooting and killing a teenager sitting on her North Philadelphia stoop four years ago was sentenced Friday.
Charles Davis was 25 years old when he and then 16-year-old Joel Saint-Fort fired down the street at 10th and Thompson in February 2020, fatally striking 19-year-old Yaniyah Foster in the head.
It happened around 3:30 p.m. as kids were being dismissed from the St. Malachy Catholic School across the street.
Prosecutors played video of Foster’s killing in court, which her family members yelped and gasped at. In total, prosecutors say 22 shots were fired. People were seen running and ducking for cover as shots rang out.
Davis, now 29, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in May. His lawyer said he had a tough childhood with family members who were addicted to drugs but pushed on and ended up going to college for a semester. But drugs eventually got the best of him.
When he got the chance to speak Friday, Davis turned to Foster’s family and said not a day goes by he doesn’t think of her, adding it’s not right Foster’s mother can’t hug her. He says he is so deeply sorry and hopes that one day her mother can forgive him.
Judge Barbara McDermott sentenced Davis to 20 to 40 years in prison.
“You have made so many bad decisions when you have been given so many gifts,” McDermott said.
Saint-Fort pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison.
Foster’s mother called the loss a pain like no other and tearfully told the judge she’s trying to learn how to forgive because that’s what her daughter would want her to do.