Police file charges in 2020 Penn Hills killing

Allegheny County police have charged a Pittsburgh teen with homicide and other crimes for the December 2020 killing of a Churchill teen.

Jafar Brooks, 16, was pronounced dead Dec. 15 at the scene of the Leechburg Garden Apartments along the 1900 lock of Garden Drive in Penn Hills on Dec. 15.

Police announced Monday that charges were filed against Timothy Whitfield Jr., 17, including robbery, criminal conspiracy and possession of a firearm by a minor.

Whitfield is incarcerated at a youth detention center in Morgantown.

Police said he will be transported to the Allegheny County Jail where he will be arraigned on the aforementioned charges.

Jafar attended Imani Christian Academy before transferring to Central Catholic High School in 2020, where he joined the school’s freshman football team.

His grandfather, Rashad Byrdsong, talked about the loss of his loved one after Jafar was killed.

“There are no words, you can’t describe this feeling. When you love someone, ain’t no words to make them feel better,” Byrdsong said.

Byrdsong and his wife, Amargie Davis, have worked together for 30 years trying to prevent the fate met by their grandson.

Byrdsong is the founder of the Homewood-based Community Empowerment Association, whose mission is to “address the needs of the children, youth, adults, and families among African American communities,” according to its website.

The couple raised Brooks from an early age and involved him in the several programs CEA runs.

Byrdsong said it will take everybody to offer young teens a meaningful life that does not involve violence.