ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown teen charged in the 2022 shooting death of an Allen High School student at Stevens Park was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder.
Elijah Patterson, 19, of Allentown, was found guilty by a Lehigh County jury after a three-day trial, District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan said in a news release.
He was 16 at the time of the killing.
Patterson also was convicted of carrying unlicensed firearms, a felony, and possession of a firearm by a minor — a first-degree misdemeanor, Holihan said.
Because Patterson was 16 at the time of the murder, the conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years in state prison and a potential maximum sentence of life.
He is scheduled to be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. May 7 before Lehigh County Judge James T. Anthony.
The victim was 15-year-old Treshawn Tracy of Allentown. Tracy was fatally shot Sept. 25, 2022, at the park at 630 N. Sixth St.
Officers were called to the park just after 2:30 p.m. for a report of a shooting. Tracy was pronounced dead at the scene and died from three gunshot wounds to the face and torso.
The Lehigh County Coroner ruled Tracy’s death a homicide.
Details of the crime
Video surveillance obtained from city cameras as well as from surrounding businesses showed Patterson arriving at the park the morning of the shooting and interacting with Tracy, as well as several other teens at a pavilion in the park.
The surveillance showed a verbal altercation between Patterson and Tracy.
The investigation revealed that Patterson shot Tracy once in the face with a handgun.
After Tracy fell to the ground, Patterson shot him twice more in the back before fleeing the park.
Patterson was arrested the following day at a home in the 400 block of Tilghman Street.
Tracy was a sophomore at Allen and a member of the junior varsity football team.
At the time, it was the second gun-related incident in 10 days involving an Allen High student.
The district attorney's office said then that a student was arrested with a loaded semi-automatic handgun after several schools locked down due to a report of gunfire.
Patterson's case was investigated by Allentown Police Detective Joshua Baker and Sgt. Stephen Fiorillo, as well as the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force.
It was prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey D. Burd and Deputy District Attorney Tadd J. Turczyn.
