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Teen who shot 3 bystanders with a ghost gun in the Bronx sentenced to 15 to life
By
Samantha Max
Published Sep 15, 2023
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Samantha Max / Gothamist
By
Samantha Max
Published Sep 15, 2023
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A teen who shot three students outside a Bronx high school last year, killing one of them, offered a brief apology in court Friday before he was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
“I apologize for my actions,” Jeremiah Ryan said in a deep, quiet voice after a series of tearful speeches from relatives of the murdered teen. “I’m sorry.”
Ryan, 18, injured two 17-year-olds and killed 16-year-old Angellyh Yambo when he fired at least six shots from a ghost gun during an argument outside University Prep Charter High School in the South Bronx last spring, according to the Bronx district attorney’s office. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder this past August.
The shooting was part of a surge in youth gun violence in recent years. Last year, 153 juveniles were shot and 123 were accused of shooting someone, up from 75 and 48 respectively five years earlier, according to NYPD data.
“We’re losing a generation of our children, and this needs to stop,” Bronx DA Darcel Clark said during a press conference after the sentencing. “We need to care for our kids. We need to give them hope.”
More than a dozen of Yambo’s loved ones filled the small, fifth-floor courtroom; many of them wore T-shirts bearing her image. Yambo’s mother, Yanely Henriquez, sat beside Clark, holding a photo of her daughter. The words “mi regalo mas divino” — my most divine gift — were printed in curly script on the back of her shirt.
Bronx DA Darcel Clark walks to the courtroom.
Samantha Max / Gothamist
Yambo was walking home from school around 1:30 p.m. on April 8, 2022 when a bullet meant for someone else hit her in the back. It pierced her lung and pulmonary artery, killing her, according to the DA’s office. Other bullets struck a 17-year-old girl in the leg and a 17-year-old boy in the rear. Those teens survived, but they did not attend the sentencing. A judge issued protection orders for both.
Yambo’s family described the pain they have felt since they learned she had been shot on what they now call their “Black Friday.” They said Ryan’s actions had “destabilized” their family and said they hoped he thought about Yambo every day for the rest of his life.
Relatives said Yambo — who they called “Chunky Cheeks” — was shy and loving, with the “most beautiful smile. They said she loved to read, play video games and make art. She dreamed of one day becoming a doctor.
Yambo’s aunt, Mary Hernandez, noted several similarities between her niece and Ryan: she said they both grew up in the same neighborhood and went to charter schools. She said they also both witnessed domestic violence and trauma at home. But while Yambo decided to pick up books and become an avid student, Ryan picked up a gun instead.
“We are unable to save her,” Hernandez said. “You shattered her dreams, her life and our lives.”
Henriquez called her daughter her “princess.” Her voice caught as she told Ryan about the day that she viewed more than 100 photos of Yambo’s dead body, covered in blood. She said no punishment would be sufficient to make up for the loss, and that she would never have closure knowing that one day Ryan could be released.
“Thanks to you, Jeremiah, I live with a half a heart,” she said.
When it came time for Ryan to speak, defense attorney Derrick Magwood chose to speak on his client’s behalf.
“Jeremiah is remorseful, your honor, and he does understand the severity of his actions,” he said.
Magwood said his client doesn’t talk much or smile a lot. He said he was embarrassed by his actions, which he said were largely based in fear. The attorney also said the teen wanted to apologize to his mother.
Bronx DA Darcel Clark says her office is committing to prosecuting people who use guns at a press conference after the sentencing of Jeremiah Ryan Friday.
Samantha Max / Gothamist
As Magwood spoke, Ryan’s mother shook and cried in her seat, her head hanging low. Ryan, dressed in a dark green sweatshirt with short, neat braids, sat quietly beside his attorney with his hands cuffed behind his back.
While Yambo’s family asked for the maximum possible prison term, the judge imposed a pre-negotiated sentence of 15 years to life, which means Ryan could eventually be released on parole.
“I hope that you can fully appreciate and think about all of that while you serve your sentence,” Justice Jeffrey Rosenblueth said.
Before the sentencing concluded, the judge asked once more if Ryan had anything to say. Ryan looked at his attorney, and then uttered a quick apology. After about 45 minutes, the proceeding had ended and officers escorted Ryan out of the courtroom.
“Jeremiah!” his mother called as he walked away.
The shooting has become a rallying cry for stricter regulations of so-called ghost guns, which lack serial numbers, making them virtually untraceable. People can buy parts online and assemble them at home or manufacture the pieces themselves with a 3-D printer.
While they still account for just a fraction of overall gun seizures in New York City, the number of ghost guns recovered by police has climbed in the last five years, from just 17 in 2018 to 463 last year, according to NYPD data.
Mayor Eric Adams and Attorney General Letitia James have both sued several ghost gun dealers and inked settlements requiring them to stop selling in the city. The state has also outlawed the sale and possession of ghost guns and unfinished pieces that can be used to make untraceable firearms. A bill introduced earlier this year would make it illegal to assemble a ghost gun or share instructions on how to manufacture them with others.
At the national level, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives urged all federally licensed gun dealers last year to treat ghost guns like any other firearm and follow the same safety regulations — like background checks — when selling unfinished gun parts. U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, who represents the South Bronx, has also introduced legislation in honor of Yambo that would ban ghost guns nationwide and expand the perimeter of gun-free school zones.
Tagged
public safety
bronx
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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