Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., has announced the sentencing of Donta King, Jr., age 26, who will be serving 25 years-to-life in prison. King was convicted for the murder of Ronald Thomas, 27, on the Upper West Side in May of last year. A jury in the New York Supreme Court found King Jr. guilty on all counts on May 2, 2025, including Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, reported the Manhattan DA's Office.
“This vile act of gun violence against a defenseless man continues to devastate Mr. Thomas’ family and loved ones, who are still struggling to make sense of this horrifying and deadly attack,” Bragg said, as he expressed the ongoing pain felt by the victim’s family due to King Jr.'s actions. The District Attorney reaffirmed that combatting gun violence was a paramount concern for his office in their efforts to secure the safety of Manhattan’s communities, as per the Manhattan DA's Office.
According to court documents and statements made on record, the murder was the tragic end of a love triangle where both men were romantically involved with the same woman. In text messages leading up to the murder, the woman had expressed a desire to reunite with Thomas—a man she had previously dated—and to sever ties with King Jr., her current romantic partner.
On the day of the murder, April 30, 2022, Ronald Thomas was visiting New York from Virginia and went to the NYCHA’s Frederick Douglass Houses to meet the woman. A confrontation ensued by his parked car, which ended when King Jr. fired multiple shots into Thomas' head at close range, killing him. King Jr. then fled New York and was later apprehended in Pennsylvania before being extradited back to state.
The prosecution was led by Assistant D.A.s Amy Hare and Christina Awad, with additional assistance from a team, detailed in the press release by the Manhattan DA's Office. In his acknowledgment of the collaborative effort behind the successful prosecution, D.A. Bragg thanked the NYPD, naming several detectives and officers for their contributions to the case.
