An Allentown man admitted Friday to killing a man in the city in 2018, ending his criminal case that had been tried and successfully appealed twice.
Vyante Green, 31, pleaded guilty to the Jan. 1, 2018, shooting that killed Kenyatta Eutsey, 23, and injured Dimitri Joseph, 24, according to Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan. Green pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and aggravated assault, and was sentenced to 22-50 years in prison.
He shot the men while at a New Year’s party in the 1100 block West Turner Street, according to a DA’s office news release.
Green was convicted of first-degree murder during a trial in 2020, but was given a new trial after he appealed, the DA said. The Pennsylvania Superior Court determined the judge overseeing the trial should have instructed the jury about voluntary manslaughter, the release states.
Green was found guilty of third-degree murder and aggravated assault during a trial in 2023. That verdict was also overturned by the same court, which determined Green should have been allowed to present character witnesses about his nonviolent behavior, Holihan said.
Green admitted during his first trial that he shot Eutsey and Joseph early that morning, the DA’s office said. He said he shot Eutsey because he “snatched” Green’s phone, and he shot Joseph immediately after, police said. He said he did not see a weapon in either of the men’s hands.
He then fled to an after-hours club. After hearing the next day that Eutsey died, Green made plans to flee to New York, the DA said.
Green has been in jail since his 2018 arrest.