Syracuse, N.Y. – Tracy Ogletree on a bitter January night last year got a call no parent ever wants to get about her son.
“He’s been shot,” her son’s girlfriend told her.
Ogletree and her husband rushed to Upstate University Hospital, but they weren’t allowed in because the shooter was being treated there too. The family was told this was a policy to prevent violence in the hospital.
Waiting outside in the cold, they got the news that their son Tyus had died. His dad collapsed to his knees and cried.
That was the story Tracy Ogletree shared in court Wednesday at the sentencing of a teen who admitted taking part in the murder on Jan. 7, 2023 in Syracuse.
Junari Harold -- one of two people charged with the murder -- was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison Wednesday after previously pleading guilty to second-degree murder. He was 17 years old at the time.
“Part of us died with our son,” Tracy Ogletree said. “You killed our son, you took our peace of mind. You have taken so much from so many.”
Tyus Ogletree, 27, was shot inside a home at 212 Sunset Ave. he shared with his girlfriend and her three young kids who his family said looked to him as a father figure. Those children saw him bleeding out on the kitchen floor, prosecutor Rob Moran said in court Wednesday.
Days before Harold was set to go to trial, he admitted to acting with Vladimir Fernandez, 27, to cause Ogletree’s death. Harold did not fire the fatal shot, Moran said.
The pair were accused of breaking into the Sunset Avenue home and killing Ogletree. A witness heard a scuffle in the house, prosecutors said. Shortly after, Ogletree was found with a gunshot wound to the chest.
Fernandez, 27, was found in the street by police with a gunshot wound in his leg. Both Fernadez and Ogletree were taken to Upstate University Hospital. Fernadez’s case is still set to go to trial.
A 27-year-old man died after a North Side shooting on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2022. (Rylee Kirk | Rkirk@syracuse.com)
In court, Harold’s attorney, Nick DeMartino, said that Harold had no intention to kill anyone but said that his client has taken responsibility for his part in the murder.
Harold also addressed the court and the victim’s family.
He said that he was sorry for the pain he caused and the role he played in ending a life.
“I will not attempt to ask to be forgiven for my foolishness,” Harold said. “However, I stand before you all with an open heart.”
Tracy Ogletree said in court that her son’s death has been unbearable. She described her son as both a “mama and daddy’s boy” who gave the best hugs.
She said he was a passionate musician who had been writing songs since he was 10 years old. He was also a sports lover and a dedicated athlete who earned a junior black belt in karate, she said.
He would text his dad, Wilson Ogletree, recapping every big sports game and would send him predictions for any upcoming games, she said. She called him a “sports critic.”
Tracy Ogletree said that the night she stood outside the hospital she couldn’t even feel the cold as she held on to hope her son would be okay. Instead, she said she was robbed of her last chance to see her youngest son.
Now, she said she will never receive another daily “good morning” from her beloved son and is just left to reckon with her grief.
She told Harold that he should remember her face and her husband’s face as a reminder of the man that Tyus Ogletree was. She told the 18-year-old that her family would be at every parole hearing once he becomes eligible to remind him of the pain he caused. She said no sentence Harold could serve would erase what happened.
“May God have mercy on your soul and may God also ensure you spend the rest of your days in prison,” she said, “the way my son will spend the rest of his days and beyond in an urn on my mantle.”
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Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com.