PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia man who admitted to fatally shooting an 11-year-old riding a scooter five years ago in the Northeast has been sentenced to at least a decade in prison.
Harley Belance was riding a motorized scooter in Oxford Circle, along McKinley Street in March 2021, when a 14-year-old friend who was fighting with a group of other kids jumped on. That’s when prosecutors said Khaleek Baldwin “inserted himself,” and fired several shots down the crowded residential street.
Belance, just 11 years old, was hit in the back — his friend, in the arm and leg.
Belance died in his friend’s arms. Prosecutors said it was a case of “wrong place, wrong time.”
His mother wrote a letter that said her son loved playing basketball and riding bikes, and that his smile lit up the room.
She said her son often said, “Mommy, every time I smile, I get something for free.”
Prosecutors told the court the family moved to Florida following his death, and while there, their other son was murdered.
Baldwin, who is now 24 years old, apologized to the family and said he knows it’s not enough, but he isn’t a monster or bad person. Prosecutors outlined a violent history, including nearly a dozen prison infractions for fighting.
Judge Scott O’Keefe sentenced Baldwin to 15 to 40 years behind bars, and ordered anger management classes, job training and mental health services.