Allentown Man Convicted of Shooting Teenager to Death in 2022 in City Park

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

An Allentown man faces a mandatory sentence of 35 years to life after being convicted in the 2022 killing of a teenager.

He committed the crime when he was 16.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan said Elijah Patterson, 19, was convicted a three-day trial of first degree murder and other charges related to the shooting death of Treshawn Tracy, 15, also of Allentown.

Here are the facts from the District Attorney:

March 5, 2025

District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced a first-degree murder conviction for a man charged in the 2022 killing of a teen at an Allentown park.
Elijah Patterson, DOB 1/18/2006, of Allentown, was convicted by a jury after a three-day trial of First Degree Murder, a felony of the first degree; Firearms Not to be Carried Without a License, a felony of the third degree; and Possession of a Firearm by a Minor, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Because the defendant was 16 years old at the time of the murder, this conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years in state prison and a potential maximum sentence of life.
Patterson will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. May 7 before Judge James T. Anthony.
The victim was 15-year-old Treshawn Tracy of Allentown who was shot and killed on Sept. 25, 2022 at Stevens’ Park, 630 N. 6th Street.
Officers were called to the park just after 2:30 p.m. for a report of a shooting. Tracy was pronounced dead at the scene and died from three gunshot wounds to the face and torso. The Lehigh County Coroner ruled Tracy’s death a homicide.
Video surveillance obtained from city cameras as well as from surrounding businesses showed Patterson arriving at the park the morning of the shooting and interacting with Tracy, as well as several other teens at a pavilion in the park.
The surveillance showed a verbal altercation between Patterson and Tracy. The investigation revealed that Patterson shot Tracy once in the face with a handgun. After Tracy fell to the ground, Patterson shot him twice more in the back before fleeing the park.
Patterson was arrested the following day at a home in the 400 block of Tilghman Street.
The case was investigated by Allentown Police Detective Joshua Baker and Sgt. Stephen Fiorillo as well as the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force and was prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey D. Burd and Deputy District Attorney Tadd J. Turczyn.