A Bronx man who admitted to a brutal 2023 stabbing in Mott Haven was sentenced on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, to 20 years to life in state prison for killing 36-year-old Jyleal Connor. Prosecutors said Angel Silva confessed to stabbing Connor 27 times during the Aug. 26, 2023 attack, and that DNA recovered at the scene tied him directly to the crime. Silva’s co-defendant, Wilfred Pacheco, had already pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and received a 20-year prison term in December.
The violence broke out around 11:45 a.m. on Aug. 26 near Bergen Avenue and East 149th Street, when Silva and Pacheco, reportedly armed with large knives, confronted Connor during a dispute, according to News 12 New York. Prosecutors said Silva repeatedly stabbed Connor, and he later pleaded guilty to murder on Jan. 14. Pacheco admitted to first-degree manslaughter on Oct. 30 and was sentenced two months later.
Connor was rushed to NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, where he was pronounced dead, relatives told local outlets. Spanish-language reporting in El Diario NY described him as a father of five who had recently moved to the Bronx from Philadelphia, and noted that police released surveillance images as they searched for suspects in the days after the killing.
Evidence and prosecution remarks
Prosecutors told the court that DNA on a hat left behind at the scene was a crucial piece of evidence that helped crack the case. “This defendant, along with a co-conspirator, viciously stabbed the victim multiple times and killed him,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark said at sentencing, as reported by News 12 New York.
Sentencing and legal outcome
Silva’s Jan. 14 murder plea led to the 20 years-to-life sentence imposed on Friday. Pacheco’s earlier plea to first-degree manslaughter on Oct. 30 resulted in a 20-year prison term. Prosecutors said the punishments reflected both the ferocity of the daylight attack and the strength of the forensic and investigative evidence against the two men.
Neighbors said the case has reignited long-running worries about street safety in Mott Haven, while Connor’s family members described the sentences as offering a measure of closure in the midst of ongoing grief. Prosecutors said they hope the outcome brings some solace to Connor’s loved ones and sends a clear message that violent street assaults will be met with aggressive prosecution.
