PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Family and friends of Milan Loncar, a beloved Brewerytown man who was shot and killed while walking his dog in January 2020, gathered for the sentencing of the man convicted of the crime.
While defendant Josephus Davis, 21, was sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder, robbery and gun offenses in the case, he wasn’t in court Friday.
Davis appeared by Zoom in an orange jumpsuit, after court officials say he refused a COVID-19 test. But the judge ordered an investigation because Davis said the prison guards wouldn’t allow him to be tested.
“This has been recently a ploy by defendants not to be brought down to face either trials, sentencings or the like. We have been dealing with that off and on now for the last couple of months,” said prosecutor Joanne Pescatore.
The hearing went on, as the judge first read summaries from more than two dozen letters written by Loncar’s loved ones. They described the 25-year-old Temple graduate as a kind, compassionate soul who would drop everything to help someone.
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Loncar’s sister tearfully told the court he would have jumped in front of a bullet for anyone, including Davis.
Loncar’s mother said a single gunshot, which turned his chest into spaghetti, ripped their lives apart. She told the judge that because of the devastation and heartbreak, she and her daughter made an anti-suicide pact.
Pescatore believes that the victim’s family also feels for Davis, even as he took Loncar’s life.
“I think this family, more than any family that I’ve dealt with, does have compassion for the defendant and for his family and doesn’t want to be perceived as being privileged,” said Pescatore.
Davis yawned about a dozen times during the hearing.
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When he finally got a chance to speak, he said he believed racism was a big part in his conviction, adding that it’s “a shame another Black man is losing his life” in prison.
“It’s all on video. There was gunshot residue. He’s wearing the clothing, and an hour-and-a-half later, he’s wearing the same clothing that you can clearly see from the video,” Pescatore said about the killing that happened near the corner of North 31st and Jefferson streets.
“You can clearly see he is the person holding the gun and the person that fires the gun.”
Davis did not express sympathy for the family, as his mother did when she spoke. She told the judge her children were taken and given to his drug-addicted father and added that he had a tough childhood and bounced around to different disciplinary schools.
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“They do feel some sorrow for his mother as well,” said Pescatore about Loncar’s family.
“They’ve [had] such a great loss in their own lives, but they still were able to say nice things to her. They don’t blame her.”
Davis still has an open carjacking case involving a kidnapped Uber driver and a pair of prior robbery convictions, but will serve the rest of his life behind bars as an automatic sentence. The judge added in 12 ½ to 24 years in prison for the additional gun and conspiracy charges.
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