Reading man pleads guilty in fatal shooting of 17-year-old
Oct. 14—A 36-year-old Reading man has pleaded guilty during his trial in Chester County Court on charges for his role in the 2017 fatal shooting of a 17-year-old male.
Jonathan Malave pleaded guilty Wednesday to third-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery in the killing of David Doyle III in North Coventry Township. Malave's trial had begun Tuesday.
Malave, whom prosecutors said drove a car carrying two of three co-defendants after the killing, was sentenced by Judge David Bortner to 17 to 34 years in state prison.
"Jonathan Malave helped orchestrate the robbery of drugs and money and drove the get-away car after the murder of a 17-year-old, said District Attorney Deb Ryan. "This is a senseless tragedy that impacts the lives of so many people. While this sentence doesn't change the fact that a child was killed, hopefully, it brings justice to the victim's family."
On Sept. 24, 2017, North Coventry police responded to a report of a person shot at a residence on Worth Boulevard. When police arrived, authorities said, they found Doyle with a gunshot wound to the stomach. The victim was transported to Reading Hospital, where he died the next day.
Police and county detectives said the shooting happened during a home-invasion robbery that Malave and three co-defendants planned, believing drugs and money were inside the apartment.
The co-defendants' cases are pending.
