2 men convicted in Downtown Pittsburgh killing of 18-month-old

De’Avry Thomas was a happy toddler.

“He never really cried,” said Khalil G. Darden, Jr., 22, of Pittsburgh, the boy’s godfather. “He always wanted to have fun. He was always smiling.”

De’Avry just 18 months old, was killed in a drive-by shooting Downtown over Memorial Day Weekend in 2022. On Wednesday, the two men responsible for his death were awaiting sentencing after they were found guilty of first-degree murder and other charges.

Darden hopes the Penn Hills community center that his nonprofit, Pittsburgh-based Young Black Motivated Kings & Queens, plans to dedicate to De’Avry will lead to something positive.

“To me, it’s to be able to continue that legacy,” Darden told the Trib. “It’s so people remember his name.”

Darden and De’Avry’s family watched Wednesday as Markez Anger, 24, of Wilkinsburg, and Londell Falconer Jr., 27, of Wilmerding, were found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit homicide, attempted homicide and aggravated assault during a non-jury trial.

Anger also faced firearms charges due to a 2014 robbery charge that rendered him unable to carry a gun.

Then, the family went through the painful process of hearing, again, about how the youngest member of their family was taken from them.

Anger and Falconer drove a Jeep Compass with Illinois plates Downtown on May 29, 2022, according to the criminal complaint. At 2:53 p.m., near PPG Place at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Stanwix Street, one of the men opened fire on a parked Jeep.

The shooter hit 18-month-old De’Avry , who was strapped into a car seat in the second row of the Jeep, the criminal complaint said. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the face and head, and first responders had to cut him out of the seat to render aid. The child never made it to the hospital. He died en route.

De’Avry’s mother, De’Shea Green, had been driving the Jeep with De’Avry in the back. Police previously said she was not the target of the shooting, and a motive remains unknown.

Pittsburgh police found the shooter’s Jeep later in the day, at 5:07 p.m. on Tinsbury Street in Troy Hill, the complaint said. The two Illinois license plates had been taken off the car and dropped in a nearby trash can.

Police found a box of cleaning supplies and an open can of Red Bull, which contained fingerprints of the suspects. They also found a video of the shooter’s Jeep parked on East Ohio Street in the North Side’s Allegheny Center, which helped detectives identify Falconer.

Darden knows the details. But he’s moving past them.

The founder and CEO of Young Black Motivated Kings & Queens said he started his nonprofit after his uncle’s murder in 2013. He is looking to purchase the former Imagine Penn Hills charter school on Penn School Drive to provide something the community lacks — a place for kids to hang out, play and learn.

“The center will provide a safe space (with) reading rooms, study areas, and state-of-the-art technology, including a computer lab,” said Darden, a 2019 graduate of Penn Hills High School. “We’re looking for it to be a one-stop shop.”

There used to be a YMCA in Penn Hills, where teens could hang out, Darden said. That YMCA’s last day came in August 2018 as Kevin Bolding, the organization’s CEO, announced the closure of three area branches.

The YMCA building was listed for sale in September 2018 with an asking price of $1.8 million. A church later moved in. But the void remained, Darden said.

“The kids don’t have anywhere to go,” he told the Tribune-Review. “I think there are a lot of resources … but they don’t have a space where they can go.”

In the future, he hopes the Young Black Motivated Kings & Queens: De’Avry Thomas Community Center answers their call.