Philly man serving life sentence helps run youth basketball tournament — and a sneaker shop — from a Pa. prison

Listening in on a phone call between Tess Johns-Coffee and Thomas Coffee, you could hear the couple collaborating on new ideas for their sneaker store, Athletic Drip, planning community events for young people, or joking about who would beat the other in a one-on-one basketball game.

“I would beat him, though,” Johns-Coffee said, followed by a slight laugh from her husband.

The two have known each other since their junior year at Abington High School, where they played basketball. They had chemistry similar to the stars of the classic early 2000s movie Love & Basketball. The irony is that the two never actually competed on the court.

Now, they may never have that chance.

The sounds of laughter over the three-way call were infectious. Except for the prerecorded message that said: “This is a call from Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution, Coal Township.”

Coffee has been in prison for 12 years as he serves a life sentence at SCI Coal Township in Northumberland County. With each passing day, the 35-year-old reflects on his past and the first-degree murder conviction that landed him behind bars.

Coffee was convicted of shooting a South Jersey man to death during a robbery in 2013 after offering to sell him an all-terrain vehicle on Craigslist. He also was convicted of three other armed robberies and sentenced to consecutive 50- to 100-year prison terms for those crimes. Coffee said he did not commit those crimes and has appealed the jury verdict.

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Although he is incarcerated, he said he wants to make an impact in his community and inspire young people to strive for a brighter future.

“After a few years of me sitting here and actually getting older, I started seeing kids coming here at 18,” Coffee said recently over the phone. “I started reading more stories in the newspaper and the daily news about this kid that’s 13, this kid that’s 14, this kid that’s 15, and they’re doing stuff that gang members do. … It was a shock to me. But when I see them coming here, I’m talking to them, and they’re actually kids at heart. They just got into the wrong stuff. So it bothers me to see that.”

One way the Coffees aid their community is by hosting an annual youth basketball tournament at Crestmont Park in Willow Grove. The event welcomes anyone 18 and under and is full of prizes and giveaways — 50 pairs of sneakers, Samsung tablets, 10 bikes, 75 gift bags with Nike apparel, and a highly coveted prize for the tournament’s MVP.

Participants compete in challenges such as a five-on-five tournament, a three-on-three tournament, a three-point contest, and a skills challenge. Whoever earns the tournament MVP wins a trophy and becomes a brand ambassador for the Coffees’ sneaker store.

This year’s winner was 18-year-old Germantown native Nafis Dubose, who will be advertised as the face of Athletic Drip. The tournament serves as a way to get kids out of the city, even if it is just for a few hours.

“When you’re playing ball, you’re not really around the negative stuff, right?” Coffee said. “So I figure if we do a tournament, it’s a positive environment to take the kids out of the city and bring them out to the area where they don’t have to worry about getting shot. We came up with the prizes and trophies to show them that they can get rewarded through positive things, too.”

While the prizes might be an attraction, they’re not the most essential part of the day. The Coffees invite leaders from various backgrounds to speak to attendees and promote a better future for young people in the community. They also act as mentors to prevent kids from following the negative influences in their lives.

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At last year’s tournament, Philadelphia criminal defense attorney Teri Himebaugh discussed the challenges of representing children as young as 16 years old who are facing life sentences. Eric Reynolds, the father of Detroit Lions running back and fellow Abington alumnus Craig Reynolds, also attended to discuss his other son, Eric, and his legal troubles.

“You never know who these kids are going to cling to,” Coffee said. “But a lot of them have different stories. This year, we have a lot of exonerees [speaking], because had these kids taken the wrong path, this is where they could have ended up. A lot of exonerees sit there for 10, 15, 20 years because they were in the wrong crowd.”

Celeste Trusty, the state legislative affairs director of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, also attended. Coffee made an appearance through a video call from SCI Coal Township.

“The kids went wild when Thomas got on the phone and spoke to them,” Johns-Coffee said. “They all wanted to speak to him and get on the screen of the video visit. They were so happy to put a face to a name. All the parents were thankful and appreciative as well. It was a beautiful, heartfelt moment.”

Of course, booking the speakers, hosting the event, and managing the sneaker store doesn’t come easily, especially for someone who can’t leave the facility. That’s where Johns-Coffee, 34, comes in. She typically manages everything while her husband acts as an adviser.

She not only manages the proceeds from their sneaker enterprise, but also the donations and sponsorships the duo receives from other local businesses to help produce the tournament.

“The end result is always a beautiful experience,” Johns-Coffee said. “The process is difficult because I’m trying to make his vision come true, and sometimes I don’t understand it or we’re not on the same page. … It takes a lot longer of a process because I have to wait for a video visit or something for him to approve. But besides that, it’s a beautiful combination.”

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Coffee, a Philadelphia native, tries to help in the community in more ways than one. He and his wife use their sneaker shop, Athletic Drip — located in Mount Carmel, Northumberland County — as a community hangout to take kids off the streets.

“Not having and going without really pushes kids to do bad things,” Johns-Coffee said. “That’s why the shoe store was a big thing. So it attracts the kids in, and then he can kind of mentor them and share his story. Because when they don’t have the shoes, when they don’t have the clothes, when they don’t have the latest whatever it is, they get teased at school. When they don’t have the things they would like to have, it really has a major negative impact on these kids. So he tries to fill those voids.”

Athletic Drip opened in March 2023 and sells the latest sneakers from brands like Jordan, Yeezy, and New Balance. Since its opening, the Coffees have hosted community events such as winter coat drives for children and clothing collections for fire victims. The store also had a PlayStation 5 to offer kids a spot to hang out when they’re bored.

“There’s nothing really out there for the kids to do anymore,” Coffee said. “There’s not many programs or anything. So I know they just fall into whatever they fall into, and that’s always the bad stuff. So if I invite them inside, they’re off the streets and they’re out of trouble.”

Although Coffee is spending life in prison, he said he looks forward to continuing to help his community. He has partnered up with Chop Mosley, a screenwriter, producer, and director from Philadelphia, to create an acting studio in the Mount Carmel area, inspired by his 13-year-old daughter, Zuri.

“This would be a source to get the youth involved in acting,” Coffee said. “Because when I came up, I didn’t think that was an option. We didn’t have those opportunities. So I want to do that because that’s another area where kids don’t have enough confidence to try that stuff, and we want to bring it here.”

“I feel like unless you’re in that world or exposed to it, you won’t know it’s available or accessible to you,” Johns-Coffee added. “There’s so many different opportunities in life. You don’t have to give up and think there’s nothing for you. Once you see it, you take it and run with it. But if you’re not exposed to it, it’s kind of hard for these kids.”

Had Coffee had similar programs he’s offering to the community, he believes his path could have been different.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I think that if it was like that, a lot of people would choose that path of giving to the community.”