Youth confessed to shooting following intense effort by police, community
Bail set at $250,000 for teen charged in homicide
The Buffalo teenager accused in the shooting death of 14-year-old Nancylia Salter is being held on $250,000 bail following his arraignment in City Court this morning.
Devon D. Jones, 17, of East Ferry Street, was arrested Sunday, the day after a sweep in the Hagen Street neighborhood churned up tips that helped police track down the suspected shooter.
Jones, whose mother and sister were in court this morning, pleaded not guilty before Judge James A. W. McLeod.
Jones is scheduled to come back to court with an attorney on Sept. 9.
Mayor Byron W. Brown and Police Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson spoke with Hagen Street residents following the Jones' arraignment to thank neighbors for helping police.
"This day would not have been possible without the help and the support of the community," Brown said.
Jones was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting Tuesday on Hagen Street.
Jones confessed to pulling the trigger after he was picked up Sunday evening, Gipson said.
Shots rang out on Hagen Street, off East Delavan Avenue, at about 8:30 p. m. Tuesday as more than two dozen neighborhood kids were outside chatting and dancing.
Nancylia was struck once in the back and was taken by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Jevon Ingram, 13, also was hit by bullet fragments to his back and triceps and was expected to be OK.
Police believe an argument broke out and a person or persons emerged from a yard and opened fire on the group. They had been wanting to speak with three boys who were seen fleeing on bicycles.
Gipson would not comment on whether other arrests are pending, other than to say the investigation is continuing.
The commissioner joined Mayor Brown and several detectives in announcing the arrest late Sunday at Police Headquarters on Franklin Street.
The mayor, Gipson, detectives and other community leaders spent part of Saturday going door to door and talking with residents on Hagen Street in an effort to generate leads in the investigation.
Those tips were crucial to the investigation, said Brown.
“We want the community to know that this [arrest] could not have happened without their assistance,” he said. “It’s their involvement that’s necessary for us to be successful.”
Brown and Gipson spoke briefly with Nancylia’s foster grandmother, Mary E. Reed, late Sunday.
Earlier, Gipson had pledged that his detectives would work around the clock to find Nancylia’s killer.
“Those detectives lived up to that promise,” said Gipson. “They worked relentlessly.”
Reed expressed her thanks and hopes that the arrest would mark the beginning of more people in the community coming forward with information about crimes, the mayor said.
“The bottom line with all these homicides is somebody knows who did it,” said Brown.
The mayor, police, area clergy and activists spent a few hours passing out 2,000 fliers and encouraging residents to contact the Police Department’s confidential tip line.
“A lot of individuals came forward,” said Gipson.
By Sunday, police had enough information to make the arrest.
“Through the interrogation, he did confess to the murder of Nancylia Salter,” said Gipson.
The commissioner said public outcry, including impassioned pleas from clergy and Reed for the killer to turn himself in, may have had an impact on Jones.
“Very obviously, this weighed heavily on his mind,” he said.
jtokasz@buffnews.com and abesecker@buffnews.com
