On March 23, 2026, Judge Edward M. Marsico sentenced Jyheir Mosley-Williams, age 22, to a term of imprisonment of between 18 and 40 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and illegal firearm possession. The factual plea for the plea established the following. On March 16, 2022, Mosley-Williams was a passenger in a vehicle and Bennie Chisholm was the driver. Mosley-Williams fired several shots from the vehicle in the direction of 23-year-old Jacoby Strain-Hankerson, striking him twice and killing him. Mosley-Williams’ firearm possession was unlawful as he did not possess a license to carry a handgun and was prohibited from firearm possession due to a prior juvenile adjudication for unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor. 

The evidence in the case was largely based on the testimony of Bennie Chisholm who had pleaded guilty to hindering apprehension and had received a term of imprisonment of five years in state prison for his role in the homicide. Earlier in the development of the case, the Commonwealth withdrew the charges against Mosley-Williams after Chisholm initially refused to cooperate. Chisholm, who had faced conspiracy to commit homicide charges, later agreed to cooperate against Mosley-Williams, and the Commonwealth recharged Mosley-Williams for the murder.

At the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, Mosley-Williams turned to face a group of attendees and curled his hands into a heart shape and smiled. The group of approximately twenty supporters then pointed their cell phone cameras at him in violation of proper procedure. This group of supporters loudly celebrated in a bizarre display showing disrespect to both the court and the victim’s mother who quietly sat nearby accompanied by a family member. Judge Marisco chastised the group for their behavior and threatened ramifications as they slowly exited the courtroom. Chief Deputy District Attorney Stephen R. Zawisky described the behavior as “pathetic” and will forward a summary of the disorderly conduct to the parole board as the incident seemed staged. 

CDDA Zawisky credited the work of the Harrisburg Bureau of Police, specifically Detective Nina Maus and Detective Brian Carriere, who built the homicide case against Mosley-Williams and Chisholm. The District Attorney’s Office has asserted that the defendant’s behavior at sentencing demonstrates that he is not contrite about the murder he committed and poses a future danger to society. Based upon this, the District Attorney’s Office will recommend that the Pennsylvania Board of Parole deny parole at the defendant’s minimum. Mosley-Williams could remain incarcerated until his maximum date which will be on April 30, 2062.