3 men convicted in 2021 murder of teen Olympic hopeful during Philadelphia home invasion

Kelly Rule
·3 min read
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3 men convicted in 2021 murder of teen Olympic hopeful during Philadelphia home invasion

PHILADELPHIA - A family has finally been given some justice after the life of a rising star was cut short in a robbery-turned-shooting in Kensington two and a half years ago.

Three men have been convicted and sentenced in connection with the death of 18-year-old Joshua Soto, who police say was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Today just culminates all of it. We can move forward to what Joshua really wanted to do and keep Joshua’s legacy alive," Joshua’s dad, Jesus Soto, said.

His mom, Damaris Perez-Soto added, "He was very, very special and he is so very well missed by so many people."

Soto was watching Netflix at a friend's house on November 6, 2021, when Joseph Cuevas, Luis Castillo and Anthony Sherman attempted to rob his friend identified as Zbigniew Still.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Wainwright described the setting, "He was there literally watching Netflix when these individuals arrived."

Officials say Cuevas opened fire, fatally striking Soto once in the chest. His friend was hit three times, but survived.

During the investigation, officials say they discovered that Still was a drug dealer who had met with Castillo and Sherman just days before the deadly shooting.

That's when the suspects devised a plan to rob Still of his firearms, asking Cuevas to join them as "muscle," according to the DA's office.

Castillo and Sherman were arrested shortly after the murder, while Cuevas wasn't taken into custody until nearly a year later.

Wainwright said Cuevas' getaway car was torched in Northeast Philadelphia weeks after and, when arrested, officials searched his phone.

Wainwright stated, "We found deleted searches along the lines of update on Joshua Soto murder, update on Joshua Skater, update on Soto murder suspect."

All three men were charged with murder, attempted murder and weapons offenses. Cuevas was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, while Castillo received 35-70 years after pleading guilty. Sherman also pleaded guilty to murder after cooperating with investigators.

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Officials say Soto did not have any involvement in drug-dealing, and had zero drugs in his system the night of his murder.

"Sadly, he is a victim of other people's terrible decisions and those people who made those terrible decisions are in jail cells," DA Larry Krasner said.

During a press conference Thursday, the DA's office thanked the Soto family for their patience as they brought "their son's killer to justice."

The 18-year-old was ranked 7th in ice dancing in the nation, and had dreams of representing the USA in the Olympics one day. He was also about to attend West Chester University to study pediatric nursing.

"He was a pillar to his community," Perez-Soto said. "He loved his peers. He was a very humble young man. His passion for skating was out of this world… he was a very unique young man."

An emotional video shared by Joshua's family showed the Olympic hopeful's personality and skills in a casting call with Netflix to become an ice figure skater.

His parents have a message for his accused killers. "We forgave them," Perez-Soto said. "We don’t hate them. I just hope that whatever help is given to them there, while they’re incarcerated, that they take it."

"He embodied love. Anyone he met could feel genuine love," Soto added. "He was special. We miss that. We miss his smile. We miss his specialness."