Londell Falconer arrested in De’Avry Thomas Pittsburg drive by shooting death of 18 month old boy. Second suspect now sought.
A Pittsburgh man has been arrested in connection to a downtown drive by shooting over Memorial Day weekend that left an 18 month old boy dead. A second suspect is now also wanted.
Londell Falconer, 26, of Wilmerding, upon his arrest on Monday was charged with homicide and criminal conspiracy in connection with the toddler boy’s death.
Police responded to the scene on the 100 block of Fourth Avenue, Sunday, circa 2.44 p.m. where they recovered the child, De’Avry Thomas, inside the vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds.
Officials at the scene said it was a drive-by shooting, and a bullet went right through the window of a Jeep, hitting the victim. The boy was pronounced dead when medics arrived WPXI reported.
The vehicle in the drive-by shooting, a Jeep Compass, was found abandoned nearby. An examination of the car led to police discovering the vehicle’s discarded license plate nearby along with Falconer’s fingerprints on a Red Bull can which had been discarded in a nearby garbage. Also recovered was a box with cleaning supplies according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Confronted by surveillance video
During a press conference, officials said the shooting was a targeted incident. The victim was not the intended target, but a passenger in the car was, not including the baby’s mother. A criminal complaint described the victim being shot ‘multiple times.’
About 13 hours after the incident, police were notified that Falconer was seeking treatment at a hospital for an unrelated shooting. Falconer was taken to police headquarters for questioning where he denied having been involved in the drive by shooting before being showed surveillance video of him at the scene earlier that day. The man relented and admitted he was the man driving the vehicle involved in the shooting.
Prior to his arrest, Falconer had two dozen charges against him, most of which were traffic-related along with two cases for drug possession and manufacturing.
Police are seeking a second suspect, 23-year-old Markez Anger on charges of criminal homicide, criminal conspiracy and firearms offenses. Those with information about his whereabouts should contact authorities.
