An Allentown man has been convicted of murder in the 2023 death of a man found shot in the neck in his West Allen Street apartment.
Evander Thompson, 32, was found guilty Thursday following a three-day jury trial of criminal homicide, first-degree murder, and firearms not to be carried without a license. He faces life in prison without parole when sentenced in October.
Authorities said Thompson shot and killed Orlando Ibanez, 58, on Sept. 23, 2023. Just before 2 a.m., Allentown police responded to a 911 call for a shooting on the second floor of 540 W. Allen St. Officers found Ibanez at the entrance to his apartment with a gunshot wound to the neck. Nearby, they found a shell casing.
City surveillance cameras showed a man later identified as Thompson enter the home just prior to the shooting, where he remained for several minutes before running away. Video footage recovered by the investigators showed Thompson using his cellphone moments after the shooting. The phone was taken as evidence, and on it investigators found a message from Thompson to his girlfriend saying, “he dead.”
City and privately owned camera footage also showed Thompson walking to the scene of the shooting from his home on North Nagle Street, and returning. Police said video footage and receipts placed Thompson at an Allentown bar and restaurant just after 1 a.m. the morning the killing occurred.
A gun found on Thompson’s girlfriend’s son matched the shell casing found at the scene and the bullet removed from the victim, authorities said. Evidence against Thompson also included a video in which he recorded himself showing a gun consistent with the murder weapon, authorities said.