Man Pleads Guilty In Fatal Road Rage Shooting Of 18-Year-Old Woman
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WEST CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) -- The suspect charged in the road rage shooting death of an 18-year-old driver in West Goshen last year made a startling admission in court on Wednesday.
David Desper, 29, nervously stood before a judge shackled, wearing a pink shirt and grey pants. Desper admitted to shooting and killing Bianca Roberson at a merge point near Routes 100 and 202 in June 2017.
"I hurt and I miss my baby," said Roberson's mother, Michelle Roberson.
"I hope he gets what he deserves because he had no right to take my daughter's life," said Rodney Roberson, the victim's father.
Before accepting Desper's guilty plea on a single count of third-degree murder, the judge asked the Robersons if they agreed with the decision by prosecutors to no longer seek first-degree murder.
They acknowledged they were OK with it.
Delaware County Assistant District Attorney Chris Miller explained there were a number of risks associated with pursuing that high-level charge.
"We determined there was a risk that there could be a jury or even one person on the jury that would say, 'I don't know he has that specific intent.' So we thought the best course of action was to make sure we got a murder conviction which is what we got today," said Miller.
The Bayard Rustin High School graduate was set to go to college on a full ride before her death. A scholarship fund has been created in her name.
Desper will face between seven-and-a-half to 40 years in prison.
