Boy was shot 4 times on Allentown street

By Kirk Beldon Jackson

The Morning Call

May 10, 2008

A 17-year-old Allentown boy was shot and killed as he stood on a city street Thursday night, police said.

Davine L. Law of 820 Liberty St. was shot in the 500 block of New Street shortly before 10:40 p.m., police said.

A witness said a man approached Law on foot and shot him twice, then two more times after he fell.

''He was screaming for help and I was going to go down and help him but didn't because the guy was still there,'' said the witness, who knew Law. The shooter then fled south on New Street, the witness said.

Law was pronounced dead at 11:06 p.m. at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, according to a press release issued by Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim. He ruled the death a homicide caused by gunshot wounds, the release said.

The witness described Law as someone ''who never did nothing to nobody.''

Law's half-sister Quashima Gibson of Paterson, N.J., said he may have been shot by a person who claimed Law had robbed him of $200.

She scoffed at the idea Law would rob someone, saying family members regularly gave him money and that he had borrowed $6 from their mother the day before.

''If my brother robbed someone of $200, why would he come out and ask my mother for $6?'' she asked. ''We spoiled him, so he has no need to rob nobody.''

Assistant Police Chief Ron Manescu declined to comment on Gibson's theory or any aspect of the investigation ''We're looking at a couple of things,'' he said.

Manescu, who confirmed there had been one other person on the street when Gibson was shot, said police had been talking to family and friends and had found ''evidence at the scene.'' He said Friday afternoon that no one has been arrested.

Family members and friends inside of the home declined to talk to a reporter, but Gibson agreed to talk outside.

She said Law moved to Allentown from Paterson with their mother about two years ago. She and Law's friend Abby Williams, 16, who lives on New Street close to where he was killed, said he was known by the nickname ''Day-Day.''

''Nobody knows him by his real name,'' said Williams, who noted Law used to frequent her block.

Gibson said her brother was skilled at sports, particularly basketball.

A memorial display near where he was shot had a basketball as a central item.

''He played ball, that's what he loved to do,'' said Carlos Ortiz, 17, of Allentown, moments after stopping to pay his respects at the makeshift shrine.

But Gibson said her brother had some trouble, getting into fights and letting his grades slip while he attended Allen High School. At the time of his death, he was a student at Vista, an Allentown School District school for students whose ''at-risk or disciplinary behaviors are disruptive to the learning process,'' its Web site says.

School district officials could not be reached for specifics on Law's school history Friday.

Despite low grades, Law had academic ability, Gibson and Williams said. Williams said he frequently would help her with homework.

Gibson said she and other family members had been pressuring Law to stay out of trouble. She said he was about to get a job, but did not provide details.

Gibson said she keeps a baby picture of her brother. ''If I see him like he is now, I can't deal with that,'' she said.

kirk.jackson@mcall.com 610-820-6527

Copyright © 2008 The Morning Call, All Rights Reserved.