Mom of 16-year-old NYC girl killed by stray bullet slams plea deal for shooter, says she will ‘never forgive’ him
The mother of a 16-year-old Bronx girl who was killed by a stray bullet slammed the plea deal struck by her daughter’s admitted shooter as too lenient – and told The Post she will “never forgive” him for the heinous crime ahead of his sentencing this week.
Jeremiah Ryan, 18, is expected to be sentenced to 15-years-to-life in prison on Friday after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the April 2022 shooting that left young Angellyh Yambo dead – part of a deal with Bronx prosecutors that the girl’s mom said she was “not pleased with.”
“I will never forgive him for what he did to me and my family and that’s never going to change,” devastated mom Yanely Henriquez told The Post in an exclusive interview Saturday, noting the shooter’s sentencing won’t heal the wound of the loss of her daughter.
Henriquez said she wished that Ryan – who was 17 at the time of the shooting – would get a longer prison term of 25-years-to-life behind bars.
While she acknowledged that there was “a lot on the line” had the case gone to trial, the mom said she felt injustice in the more lenient treatment since Ryan “might have an opportunity to get out of jail.”
“He has a second chance of life but my daughter doesn’t,” she said.
Her daughter was walking home from University Prep Charter High School on April 8, 2022, when she was caught in the crossfire of a gunfight and struck in the back by a bullet from Ryan’s firearm.
Ryan was accused of firing six rounds from a 9 mm Polymer 80 ghost gun — or an untraceable firearm that can be bought online and assembled at home — during a street fight with reputed gang rivals near the Bronx school.
Two other students were also injured in the melee.
Patrice O’Shaughnessy, a spokesperson with the Bronx District Attorney’s Office said prosecutors struck the plea deal “in full consultation with the entire family.”
O’Shaughnessy said the kin agreed to the deal “because they did not want to sit through a trial.”
“This is definite accountability for what he did and justice for Angellyh,” the spokesperson said.
Henriquez said she is working on preparing a statement to read out in court on Friday, something that, other than the death of her child, is “one of the hardest things, I have had to deal with.”
The mom — who has two sons — said she will “have to be brave” for all of her children and so that she doesn’t let herself down.
“I’m going to have to find the courage and strength and everything to stand up there and [read] it,” she said. “I know it’s going to be very hard.”
It was not immediately known who was representing Ryan in his defense.
