Monica Reifman’s teenage son was shot 17 times in broad daylight.

Two other people were wounded.

That, she told a judge on Tuesday, is certainly worth a longer sentence than the 15 to 30 years in prison the prosecution offered to the two men pleading guilty.

“That they could be out in their early 30s is a miscarriage of justice,” Reifman said. “This is not right.”

Despite the family’s objections, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer accepted the deal, sentencing Nazair Macon, 20, and Malik Terry, 21, to 15 to 30 years in state prison.

The two pleaded guilty to third-degree murder for the May 9, 2022, shooting death of Isaiah Anderson, 17, in Pittsburgh.

Anderson was standing outside a market in the 700 block of E. Warrington Avenue in the city’s Allentown section about 6:15 p.m. when, investigators said, Macon and Terry approached him from behind.

They fired 30 shots, said Deputy District Attorney Ryan Kiray. Anderson was killed; a male was shot in the upper body, and a woman’s leg was grazed.

Investigators used surveillance video from the area to identify a car that was seen circling the block just before the shooting. They tracked the license plate to a third man, Joseph Koller, 23, of Sewickley, who still faces homicide and other charges.

Koller later told police he dropped Terry and Macon off just before the shooting, Kiray said.

When Terry returned to the car afterward, Koller told police, Terry said, “‘We just scored.’”

Police also found a video on Koller’s cell phone that showed the three of them together about 30 minutes before the shooting wearing the same clothes seen at the time of the crime, Kiray said.

Straight-A student

Kiray read to the court from a statement written by Isaiah’s grandmother, Wanda Anderson.

She told the court her grandson was a straight-A student and was just a month away from graduation when he was killed.

He won nine school awards that the family received later.

Isaiah’s grandmother said she spoke to him every morning before school, that he always had a smile and was willing to help others.

Kiray also told the judge that the family objected to the plea deal and wanted the case to go to trial. Jury selection began on Monday but was stopped Tuesday morning when the men said they wanted to plead.

Kiray told Beemer that the victim’s family told him that they felt like the DA’s office did not care about them.

“‘They are not adequately fighting for the victim,’” Kiray recounted.

Reifman then addressed the judge.

“Had it been a more crowded day, this would have been a mass shooting event,” she said, adding later, “They deserve more time.”

Kiray told the court that after speaking with his supervisors in the district attorney’s office, they agreed the plea was the best outcome.

‘Product of our environment’

On the defense side of the room, there was discontent, as well.

Both defendants complained about their attorneys, telling the judge that they did not have full access to their case materials while at the jail, including the video on Koller’s phone that implicated them.

Lisle Weaver represented Macon, while Randall McKinney represented Terry.

After Reifman spoke, Macon said, “I’m sorry for the loss.”

Then, he continued, “We’re losing our youth.”

While it’s possible they get released in their early 30s, Macon continued, it’s also possible they’ll be in their 50s.

“We got grandmas that might not be alive when we get out,” he said. “At the end of the day, three Black kids lost their lives. We’re just a product of our environment.”

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