Teen gets 11 to 23 months in subway killing

The final teenager charged in a Center City concourse subway murder was sentenced today to 11 to 23 months in jail, a far shorter term than his co-defendants, largely because he cooperated with police and testified for the prosecution.

The other four youths received 12 1/2 to 25 years in prison for the unprovoked attack that killed Sean Patrick Conroy in 2008.

The victim's parents were dismayed with the sentence handed down by Court of Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner for Rasheem Bell.

"We had hoped for more," said Sharon Conroy, who said she would have liked to see Bell serve five to 10 years.

Bell, 18, had been out on bail and arrived in court in a white shirt and black necktie. With him were more than a dozen relatives and friends. He was led out of court to jail by a guard.

"I'm very sorry for what happened," Bell said just before he was sentenced. In a soft voice, he also criticized himself for being a "follower."

Lerner said he gave Bell a lesser sentence - and one that will keep him in a county jail rather than a state prison - because Bell cooperated, had no prior record, and encouraged other defendants and witnesses to cooperate with police.

Lerner acknowledged his sentence was a "huge downward departure" from the minimum of five years recommended for third-degree murder, but he told Bell: "I do not expect to ever hear of you sitting at the defense table . . . again."

Conroy was the manager at a Center City Starbucks and was walking through the underground passageway when he was attacked on a dare by the five youths who had skipped school.

According to trial testimony, the five Simon Gratz High School students cut class about lunch time March 26, 2008, and went to the Gallery at Market East in Center City.

They met a friend who dared them to hit the first person they saw in the subway. That was Conroy. One teenager rushed up behind Conroy, 36, and punched his head. The others followed.

By the time police got to Conroy, his lungs were so overinflated from an acute asthma attack that he could not speak. None of the blows Conroy sustained would have been fatal, a city medical examiner testified.

Conroy, who was engaged to be married, died at a nearby hospital from acute stress-induced asthma.

Assistant District Attorney Jacqueline Juliano Coelho told Lerner that Bell played an important role in helping prosecutors determine why the the assault occurred and helped them reconstruct the crime. She did not recommend a sentence.

After the sentencing, defense attorney Allan Sagot said that Bell deserved "a substantial break" because he will be a target for cooperating with law enforcement.

Philadelphia's "anti-snitching" culture regularly impedes prosecutions, a problem Lerner referred to from the bench as a "pervasive, destructive, disease."

"It is just as destructive to the fabric of this city as the actions in this case," he said.

Because Bell will received credit for four months he served in jail while awaiting trial, he will become eligible for parole in seven months.

"We did realize it was going to be less" than the other four teens, said Sharon Conway. Three were convicted at trial, while the fourth pleaded guilty.

But Conway added she did not believe Bell had shown real remorse on the witness stand during the trial. "It was fear, it wasn't remorse," she said.

The victim's father, Stephen Conway, said that while he was dismayed, "Hopefully, Mr. Bell will prove the judge's was the correct sentence."

The three convicted at trial were Nashir Fisher, 16 at the time of his arrest, Emir Best, then 17, and Kinta Stanton, also 16. The fourth, Arthur Alston, 16 when charged, was sentenced last month. All were charged as adults.