‘He Was My Best Friend,’ Describes Victim’s Sister During Sentencing of Her Brother’s Convicted Murderer

By Alyssia Davis [former] - December 5, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On Dec. 2, a Baltimore man charged with murder was sentenced to life, suspending all but 50 years with five years supervised probation before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer. 

Judge Schiffer gave Pierre Orlando Foster Jr. a sentence of life, suspending all but 50 years with five years supervised probation for first-degree murder and a concurrent 15 years with the first five years without parole for the use of a firearm during a felony violent crime. While sympathizing with the victim’s family, Judge Schiffer said, “there is nothing I can do to ease the pain of the victim’s family.”

On Friday, 29-year-old Foster was convicted of first-degree murder and the use of a firearm during a felony violent crime in connection to the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Dayvon Mason and the non-fatal shooting of another victim on April 23, 2021. The shooting took place at 7:30 p.m. on the 4600 block of York Road.

It was later learned that the victim and Foster were engaged in a verbal dispute when the shooting occurred.

Foster’s defense counsel Michael Cooper stated that throughout this process of representing the defendant, his client never denied being at the scene when the incident occurred. 

Cooper noted that the defendant was remorseful.

The defendant was doing well in life before this incident, said Cooper. 

While fighting back tears the victim’s sister described them as being “very close” during her impact statement. “We’ve been through so much together. He was my best friend.”  

“It didn’t have to be like this,” said the victim’s father, “No family should have to go through this.”

Given the opportunity to address the court, the defendant said, “I plead guilty to take accountability for my actions. Although I did not pull the trigger, I was there at the scene.”