A Philly man was convicted of murder for shooting an 11-month-old boy who succumbed to injuries years later

A Philadelphia man was convicted of murder Thursday in the death of a 3-year-old boy who was shot when he was 11 months old and, after a long struggle to survive, died last year of complications from his injuries.

Following a two-day bench trial, Common Pleas Court Judge Scott O’Keefe ruled that Francisco Ortiz, 33, was guilty of crimes including third-degree murder for shooting Yaseem Jenkins in the back of the head, the chest, and the buttocks during a botched drug deal in the city’s Hunting Park section in 2019.

Yaseem had been in the back seat of a car on the 700 block of West Luzerne Street on Oct. 19 as his father, Nafes Monroe, who was a passenger, bought marijuana from Ortiz, authorities said. When Ortiz discovered that Monroe had paid with counterfeit money, he fired seven shots at the car as it drove away, striking Yaseem, who was in the back seat.

The boy survived but was paralyzed, and spent a year in the hospital recovering. Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Hojnowski said that even though Yaseem was eventually discharged, he was never able to roll over, speak, or eat, and that he died last spring after choking on his feeding tube.

Monroe, who was charged with bringing his son to the deal in an attempt to ward off possible violence, gave Ortiz $40 worth of fake money, Hojnowski said, adding: “That’s how much this kid’s life was worth to this defendant.”

Ortiz’s lawyer, Timothy Tarpey, argued that prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to prove that Ortiz was the one who pulled the trigger. The two key witnesses in the case, Tarpey said, provided inconsistent testimony and had extensive criminal histories. Tarpey described them as “the literal embodiment of reasonable doubt.”

O’Keefe evidently disagreed, and scheduled a sentencing hearing for October. Ortiz is already serving a life sentence after being convicted last year of a separate murder, a case in which he shot a romantic rival in Mayfair in 2019.

Prosecutors in this case agreed to drop a count of first-degree murder, and proceed with a lead charge of third-degree murder, as long as Ortiz agreed to have the trial before a judge rather than a jury.

Relatives and supporters of Yaseem’s declined to comment after the verdict.

The case attracted attention after it happened in 2019 not only because it resulted in the critical wounding of a baby — but also because Ortiz had separately been accused of supplying the assault rifle that killed a 2-year-old girl in her living room in another drug-related shooting less than 24 hours later. (Ortiz was never charged in that case.)

Monroe, who lived in the 4900 block of North Camac Street, and two other adults — his girlfriend and another man — drove with the baby to Luzerne Street, where Monroe bought drugs from Ortiz. Monroe pleaded guilty to crimes including reckless endangerment and was sentenced to 11½ to 23 months in jail plus eight years’ probation.

Yaseem spent more than a year in the hospital before he was discharged and placed in foster care in the fall of 2020. He battled his injuries for years until the morning of April 19, 2022, when his family found him unresponsive in his crib.

An autopsy determined that he died from complications from gunshot wounds, and the Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a homicide.

After the verdict, Hojnowski credited detectives and other police officers who participated in the investigation, and said: “I’m glad that the family was able to get some sense of justice.”