Killer makes a deal to avoid death penalty
A 28-year-old convicted killer yesterday gave up all his appellate rights in exchange for a life sentence in prison. Kareem Glass, of North Philadelphia, was to face a penalty-phase hearing before a Common Pleas jury to determine if he would be sentenced to life or death for a 2004 shooting in which he killed Tyreyk Gaymon, 22, and injured Gaymon's cousin, Tyreese Allen.
A 28-year-old convicted killer yesterday gave up all his appellate rights in exchange for a life sentence in prison.
Kareem Glass, of North Philadelphia, was to face a penalty-phase hearing before a Common Pleas jury to determine if he would be sentenced to life or death for a 2004 shooting in which he killed Tyreyk Gaymon, 22, and injured Gaymon's cousin, Tyreese Allen.
Instead, Glass chose to forgo the hearing and give up his rights of appeal or to seek a pardon from the governor. In return, he did not have to risk a potential death-penalty verdict by the jury, and was sentenced by Judge M. Teresa Sarmina to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The panel on Tuesday convicted Glass of first-degree murder, attempted murder, possession of an instrument of crime and related offenses in the Sept. 28, 2004, shooting on 15th Street near Seybert, North Philadelphia.
The case gained prominent media attention after Allen - who agreed to cooperate with authorities as a prosecution witness against Glass - was himself killed. Allen had testified at Glass' preliminary hearing, and was preparing to testify at his trial.
Instead, on the morning of Feb. 3, 2006, Allen was chased down and shot on 15th Street near Seybert, near the scene of the earlier shooting, by one of Glass' friends, Donte Thomas. Allen, 23, was found by police in a weeded lot, bleeding from gunshot wounds to the chest. He was pronounced dead 40 minutes later at Hahnemann University Hospital.
After a trial last year, Thomas was convicted by a Common Pleas jury of first-degree murder, then was sentenced to death.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Barry, who handled the prosecution in Glass' and Thomas' cases, said yesterday that it was clear that Allen was killed because he was a prosecution witness. He said that prison records showed that Thomas had visited Glass in prison a few days before Allen was slain in broad daylight.
In the 2004 shooting, evidence at this month's trial showed that Gaymon and Allen were sitting on the steps of a relative's home on North 15th Street when Glass approached them.
Barry said that testimony showed that Glass ran a drug operation and that one of his dealers had been robbed. Glass thought that Gaymon and Allen knew who robbed Glass' friend. But when asked, Gaymon and Allen said they did not know who committed the robbery.
Glass responded by shooting Gaymon in the head and striking Allen five times - once in the abdomen and twice in each leg.
In court yesterday, when asked by the judge if he wanted to say anything before sentence was imposed, Glass replied, "No."
Gaymon's mother, Annette Belton, told the court that every day since her son died has been "a nightmare" for her. "I don't know why he died," she said.
After the hearing, she said she was OK with Glass receiving a sentence of life in prison. Allen's mother, Cynthia Gaymon, said: "I'm just glad I can rest in peace now, and my son can rest in peace." She added that Allen's son, Tyreese Allen Jr., now 6, greatly misses his father. *
