A teenager from Parma, found guilty of murdering a 14-year-old boy in 2023, was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday by Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Nancy Fuerst.
Seventeen-year-old Steven Sopko Jr. will be required to serve a minimum of 31 years before becoming eligible for parole. Last week, a jury convicted him of aggravated murder, murder, and felonious assault.
The incident occurred on November 15, 2023, when Sopko shot Braylon Harges multiple times in the vicinity of E. 93rd Street and Edmunds Avenue in Cleveland. Sopko was apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force on January 5.
Braylon’s mother, Seaerra LeFlore, expressed her grief, saying, “You would have loved him if you would have met my baby. You would truly love him; you really would have.” She shared that Braylon had dreams of becoming a football player and going to college.