PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A fifth suspect has been held for trial in the mass shooting outside Roxborough High School in 2022 that killed 14-year-old Nicolas Elizalde and wounded four others.
Dayron Burney-Thorn, 17, eluded police for more than a year after the shooting but was taken into custody in October.
At his preliminary hearing, prosecutor Ashley Toczylowski presented cell phone data, video surveillance, and information from inside the Ford Explorer that police identified as the car the shooters drove to Roxborough on Sept. 27, 2022.
Burney-Thorn appeared wearing a green prison jumpsuit and did not speak or show emotion as Toczylowski walked police witnesses through detailed electronic records.
“And it paints a very, very clear picture,” Toczylowski said. “We’re able to tell when the car doors open, what car door opens, and where they are every step of the way.”
Burney-Thorn’s attorney argued that “big, giant leaps” were required to make the case against his client, noting the video was not sharp enough to identify him. But the judge ruled there was probable cause to hold Burney-Thorn, both for the Roxborough shooting and for a fatal shooting the day before in North Philadelphia.
Four other defendants — Saleem Miller, Troy Fletcher, Zyheid Jones, and Yaaseen Bivins — are being held for trial in the Roxborough shooting. Two of them are also awaiting trial in the North Philadelphia killing.
Elizalde’s family was in the courtroom but declined comment. They left court briefly when a police witness showed video of five shooters emerging from an SUV and firing a hail of bullets at students as they left a football scrimmage, chasing them down, and continuing to shoot as they fell to the ground.
His four co-defendants are still awaiting trial.