Kenneth Enriquez-Santiago, and Steven Ferguson were sentenced Friday for the beating death of 23-year-old Kevin Kless in January 2012. Investigators say Kless was killed near 4th and Chestnut Streets during a physical fight after words were exchanged. NBC10’s Monique Braxton reports.
Two men who confessed to the beating death of a 23-year-old insurance executive on an Old City sidewalk have been sentenced.
Kenneth Enriquez-Santiago and Steven Ferguson, both 21, were charged with third-degree murder in the 2012 death of Kevin Kless.
Ferguson pled guilty to the charge and will serve a five to 10 year prison sentence. Enriquez-Santiago pled to lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy. He will serve a two to five year sentence.
Kless had just left a bar with friends around 2:30 a.m. on January 14, 2012 when he tried to hail a cab at 4th and Chestnut Streets. Investigators said Kless was arguing with a cab driver when Enriquez-Santiago, Ferguson and another man, Felix Carrillo, pulled up in their car and began beating him.
Investigators said Ferguson delivered a severe, closed-fist blow to the right side of Kless' head.
Philadelphia Police say the men punched and kicked Kless until he lay severely injured on the ground. He died a short time later.
The three men jumped into their car and fled the scene, according to investigators. The suspects were caught a week after the beating after authorities received a tip.
The Kless family traveled from Warwick, N.Y. to Philadelphia Friday for the proceedings.
Kevin’s mother, Kendall, told the court no sentence equals the loss of her 23-year-old son.
Carrillo, 24, pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter in January. He was sentenced to two to five years in prison.
