Woman pleads guilty in homicide
One of the alleged participants in a drugbuy-turned-homicide that occurred almost four years ago entered a guilty plea to murder and robbery charges in Chester County Common Pleas Court.
Anaye Marie Raggazino tendered the open guilty plea before Judge David Bortner on Friday but will be sentenced at a later date. There is no agreement between her and the prosecution as to what the ultimate sentence may be, but she faces a possible maximum of 80 years in state prison, according to court documents.
Raggazino, 35, of Phoenixville, is a heroin addict whose need for drugs set the wheels in motion for events that ultimately led to the death of 17-year-old David Michael Doyle III, who was one of four children in the home where the shooting took place. She pleaded guilty to charges of third-degree murder, robbery, and conspiracy to commit robbery.
She and three men from Reading, Berks County, alleg
edly plotted to steal drugs and cash from Doyle’s father, David Doyle Jr., who Raggazino had known for a year as a drug dealer in the Pottstown area. She and the man who authorities said held the gun that killed the teenager, Ricardo “Hov” Rivera, came up with the idea for the robbery after Raggazino showed Rivera photos of Doyle holding large amounts of cash, according to her plea agreement.
Raggazino said little during the proceeding before Bortner, except to answer questions about her decision to plead guilty. She was accompanied by her attorney, Chief Chester County Public Defender Nathan Schenker. The prosecution is being led by Senior Deputy District Attorney Carlos Barraza.
Rivera, 27, of Reading; Jonathan “Chicken Wing” Malave, 36, of Reading; and Juan Ortiz Encarnacion, 30, also of Reading are all being held on bail in Chester County Prison. They were arrested by Chester County Detectives in April 2018 after a seven-month-long investigation into Doyle’s death.
According to court records, Doyle was shot once in the torso when he and Rivera struggled with a handgun that Rivera had brought to the young man’s apartment in North Coventry to aid in the robbery. An aspiring rap musician from a large family in Downingtown, Doyle died from his wounds after being taken to the hospital the night of the shooting.
According to the facts of the case contained in Raggazino’s plea agreement, she knew that Doyle lived in an apartment complex in the Kenilworth section of North Coventry, where he dealt drugs. She first began discussing the idea of robbing him with a female relative while they drove to Philadelphia to buy heroin.
On Sept. 24, 2017, Raggazino was in Reading trying to buy heroin when she met Rivera, who she hoped to purchase drugs from. The two of them drove around the city for hours looking for a drug dealer, when Raggazino showed Rivera a photo of Doyle holding handfuls of cash. Together, they formulated the plan to commit the robbery that night.
Raggazino contacted Doyle and asked to come visit him that night. He agreed, saying that he would “take care” of her even if she did not have money to pay for the heroin. Rivera picked her up in a dark-colored SUV, with two other men, Ortiz Encarnacion and Malave. When she showed them the photo of Doyle holding money, they became excited and said, “Let’s go.”
The four drove from Readibng to North Coventry, with a plan that Raggazino would go into Doyle’s apartment, find where he kept his drug and cash, and leave, keeping the apartment door unlocked for Rivera and Encarnacion to enter. At the time, Raggazino knew that Doyle had children in the apartment with his fiancee.
They arrived about 10:45 p.m., but when Raggazino went to the apartment, she found Doyle asleep in an armchair. She and Doyle III, who was in the hone with three other children ages 9, 8 and 3 years old, tried to wake Doyle, but could not. She left to tell Rivera and the others that Doyle was asleep and that there were children inside the apartment.
But Encarnacion allegedly told her that they hd not come to Pottstown for nothing. “Go back in,” he told her. “We’re following, We’re just going in.” Rivera pulled a gun out and tucked it in his pants, she later told investigators.
When she returned to the apartment, the younger Doyle again opened the door. Raggazino tried to wake his father, but could not. She then unlocked the apartment door and texted Rivera, then went to the bathroom. When she returned, Rivera and Encarnacion had already entered the home, wearing “Scream” masks.
While she retreated to a bedroom, she heard the 17-year-old tell the men that there were children in the apartment, and then heard a “tussle” followed by two gunshots. One bullet went into the ceiling, and the other struck Doyle III. As others yelled for someone to call for an ambulance, the 17-year-old crawled into a bathroom. He died about five hours later on Sept. 25, 2017.
Raggazino Feld the apartment, only to find that Rivera, Encarnacion and Malave had driven away and left her there. She ran to a nearby house, called a friend for help, and made her way to Philadelphia. She told friends about the robbery, which she said had netted the men “like $10,000.”
She was arrested on April 30, 2018.
The three men — Rivera, Encarnacion, and Malave — are all scheduled for trial before Bortner, although no firm date has been set.
According to his obituary, Doyle III was born in West Palm Beach, Fla., and grew up in New Castle, Delaware. The grandson of David Michael Doyle Sr. of Downingtown, he was affectionately referred to as “Davey.”
As an aspiring rap lyricist, he once wrote, “I try to love a little more and hate a little less. I give it a break and try to see the best. But that’s all a lie, life ain’t just a test. It’s a long line of work and at the end we rest, never to wake up again.”
To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
To contact Staff Writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.