Second suspect arrested in toddler's shooting death in Downtown Pittsburgh
A second suspect has been arrested in the shooting death of an 18-month-old in downtown Pittsburgh over Memorial Day weekend, Pittsburgh police said Sunday.
The suspect, Markez Anger, 23, was arrested in Turtle Creek in connection with the May 29 drive-by shooting of De’Avery Thomas, police said. Anger was taken into custody early Sunday by a joint operation of the Pittsburgh Police Fugitive Apprehension Unit, U.S. Marshals and Allegheny County Police.
Anger is charged with criminal homicide, conspiracy, possession of a prohibited firearm and illegal possession of a firearm.
Police arrested Londell Falconer Jr., 26, of Wilmerding, on May 30 and charged him with criminal homicide and conspiracy to commit homicide in the death of De’Avery. He faces a preliminary hearing Friday.
De’Avery was killed while with his mother inside a Jeep at Fourth Avenue and Stanwix Street, near PPG Place, when he was shot. The child was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said a gunshot was fired at the Jeep from the passenger’s side window of another Jeep that was driving by.
Police have said the mother was not the target of the shooting, but they have not revealed who was the intended target. The criminal complaint filed against Falconer provided little insight into a motive.
The vehicle used in the drive-by shooting was found May 29 without a license plate on Tinsbury Street in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood, police said. An Illnois license plate was found in a nearby trash can along with a can of Red Bull with a fingerprint on it that matched Falconer’s prints, police said.
Police said Falconer initially denied that he was involved in the shooting, but he was presented with video evidence of him getting out of the vehicle suspected in the shooting, according to the criminal complaint. Falconer reportedly told police he was the driver of the vehicle from which the shots were fired.
Falconer was being treated at a UPMC hospital for a gunshot wound, police said.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
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