Evander Thompson gets life for Allentown murder; eyed in Missouri teen case

Evander Thompson, 32, was sentenced to life in prison without parole, plus three to seven years for a firearms violation, after being convicted of first-degree murder in the 2023 shooting death of Orlando Ibanez in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Prosecutors said surveillance footage, a text Thompson sent after the shooting, and ballistics evidence linked him to the killing; his defense is preparing an appeal. Authorities have also identified Thompson as a person of interest in the 2016 killing of 16-year-old Maleaha Journ’e Talton in Ferguson, Missouri, but no charges have been filed in that case, which remains open.