19-Year-Old Gets 25 To Life For Killing Man During Robbery

A 19-year-old man who shot a 29-year-old man to death during a predawn robbery in Albany, New York, last year was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Friday.

Gentil Nshuti, of Albany, pleaded guilty in March to second-degree murder before acting Supreme Court Justice Roger McDonough in connection to the death of Devin McGlothan on May 30, 2021, Times-Union reported.

McGlothan died at the scene after being shot at the corner of Quail Street and Elberon Place in Pine Hills just after 3 a.m. that day, according to Assistant District Attorney Alexander Scher.

The prosecutor said Nshuti had gone "trolling the streets for somebody to rob" on the morning of McGlothan's death.

Before pleading guilty to second-degree murder, Nshuti had been facing the possibility of life in prison without parole on a charge of first-degree murder.

During Nshuti’s sentencing, the mother of the victim, Gabrielle Lewis, delivered a victim impact statement to the judge and to Nshuti Friday, according to a news release from Albany County prosecutors.

“I can’t bring myself to hate you. It’s just not in my DNA to hate nor was it in Dev’s,” the mother told Nshuti. “With that being said, I cannot bring myself to forgive. Not yet. Maybe never. We will see.”

She said her son had a close bond with his siblings. McGlothan was also the father of twins, a boy and girl, who will soon turn 11.

“This will be the first of many birthdays without their dad,” Lewis told Nshuti. “They now will experience so many firsts — football game, lacrosse, life — without dad. We as a family will do everything we possibly can to make sure his children are good, but the loss of a dad at 10 years old is a lifelong feeling of emptiness and loss that you created.”

More than 250 people attended her son's funeral service, the mother said.

Nshuti's co-defendant, 19-year-old Jihad Ali, also pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery.

Ali is expected to be sentenced next Friday to a term of 15 to 20 years in prison.

"There was no reason Devin McGlothan had to die. He died because this defendant, and Jihad Ali, choose to go out trolling the streets for somebody to rob. Hopefully, this case can serve as a catalyst for change and will cause people to question their own conduct and more thoroughly consider their decisions before exposing the community to senseless violence," the prosecutor said.