Izzy

Izzadeen Burgos wanted one thing for Father's Day, family members said. His father. But justice replaced the 3-year-old boy's dream yesterday, when Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Bradley convicted Izzy's daddy, Dennis Burgos, 29, of shooting and nearly killing the boy last year. Little Izzy lost his left arm and nearly died after a piece of the bullet fired from a high-powered hunting rifle pierced his lung inside the Burgos home on St. Paul Street near 4th, on Feb. 14, 1996.

Izzadeen Burgos ate a meal yesterday fit for a 2-year-old - pancakes and spaghetti - the first solid foods he has been able to swallow in nearly a month. The bright-eyed, remarkably healthy-looking youngster was about to be moved from the intensive-care unit at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children into a regular patient room. Doctors are planning his discharge. "He's a strong little boy," said Lisa Burgos, 28, who has maintained a vigil with family members at her son's crib.

Dennis Burgos' 4-year-old daughter told her grandfather that "Daddy shot Izzy," according to police. But the grandfather has since died, so that statement cannot be used at Burgos' trial for aggravated assault before Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Bradley. Burgos, 29, is accused of using a high-powered rifle to shoot his 2-year-old son, Izzadeen, in his home on St. Paul Street near 4th, on Feb. 4, 1996. The boy lost his left arm and was near death with a pierced lung. Yesterday, defense lawyer Amy Gallicchio called a neighbor to tell of another statement made by Izzy's sister, Michelle, now 5. Edith Santiago testified that right after the shooting, Michelle told her that Izzy removed the rifle from under a bed "and the rifle shot.

Lisa Burgos clutches her 2-year-old son Izzy's favorite teddy bear, a reminder of the once feisty boy who now lies in critical condition at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. Her haggard face shows the strain of the 12 days since her husband, Dennis Burgos, allegedly shot their baby with a high-powered rifle. The bullets almost tore off little Izzadeen's left arm and severely damaged his lungs. Doctors amputated his arm and have placed him on a heart-lung machine - his only chance for survival.

The gun was taller than the baby. But somehow, according to the father, 2-year-old Izzadeen Burgos managed to pull the trigger of the high-powered rifle and mangle his arm. Cops didn't buy the tale, either. Especially after the innocent declaration of the toddler's 4-year-old sister - the only witness to the gruesome brutality: "Daddy shot Izzy. " So last night, while St. Christopher's Hospital for Children doctors struggled to keep little Izzy alive, cops jailed Dennis Burgos for aggravated and simple assault, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment and a weapons offense.

The 3-year-old boy with a missing left arm ran up and down the courthouse hallway, laughing and playing. Inside the 11th-floor courtroom yesterday, Izzadeen Burgos' mother, Lisa, and other relatives were pleading for mercy for Izzy's father, Dennis Burgos, 28, convicted of shooting the boy inside his Hunting Park home on Feb. 14, 1996. There were more tears when the father, described by the prosecution as a career criminal hooked on drugs who did not care about his son, blubbered to Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Bradley that he loved the boy and would never intentionally shoot him. But after Assistant District Attorney Charles Ehrlich said Burgos had escaped from a prison halfway house and was not thinking of his son when he brought a loaded hunting rifle into the house, Bradley sentenced him to 8 to 20 years in prison.

For seven sleepless days and nights, they have gathered at little Izzy's hospital bedside, praying that the 2-year-old boy recovers from the rifle wound that cost him his arm and nearly killed him. But yesterday, Izzadeen Burgos' relatives abandoned their round-the-clock vigil. They traveled to Family Court to support the alleged rifleman, Izzy's father. "They believe in him," said Assistant Public Defender Amy Gallicchio, who represents Dennis Burgos. "You will find no family member who thinks he did it. " The family also believes Burgos' defense against the shooting charges - that Izzy's half-sister, Michelle Spinks, 3, the only eyewitness to the shooting, was wrong, according to Gallicchio.

Calling the shooting and maiming of 3-year-old Izzadeen Burgos "one of the most tragic cases" he has seen, a Common Pleas Court judge yesterday sentenced the boy's father, Dennis Burgos, to eight to 20 years in prison. The boy, nicknamed "Izzy," lost his left arm and nearly died last year after his father shot him with a high-powered hunting rifle inside his Hunting Park home on Feb. 14, 1996. The boy was 2 at the time. The father, a convicted thief and drug user, was found guilty of aggravated assault in May. "This is one of the most tragic cases I've had to preside over in over 30 years on the bench," Common Pleas Court Judge Edward J. Bradley said yesterday.

Two-year-old Izzadeen Burgos was working too hard to breathe, even with the aid of a special ventilator and sophisticated medications. So physicians at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children turned yesterday to the last weapon in their life-saving arsenal. Izzy was placed on a machine called ECMO, which acts as an artificial lung, removing carbon dioxide from the blood and adding oxygen. ECMO offers Izzy's lungs a chance to heal. However, its use requires putting Izzy on anti-coagulant drugs, which could cause his wounds to bleed.

Most of the men come in with nothing more than the clothes on their back. They go out the same way. Only when they leave, their clothes are clean. They might not fit, but they're a helluva a lot better looking - and smelling - than the clothes they came in with. It's a hand-me-down wardrobe only a man like Izzy can appreciate. Izzy knows. He's been where these men are. On the street. Izzy works in the laundry room of My Brother's House, a homeless shelter for men at 15th and South streets in Center City.

At 5-foot, Unionville freshman Isabel McDonough - known to her field hockey teammates as Izzy - often gets lost in the crowd when 21 other players are on the field. Even when there are only 14 players on the field, as is done for an overtime period, it might not always be easy to spot her. McDonough spotted a Brett Perkins overtime hit from the right side of the goal against sixth-ranked Conestoga on Wednesday. McDonough tapped the ball in to give the 11th-seeded Indians a 2-1 overtime victory over the host Pioneers in the second round of the District 1 Class AAA playoffs.

At 5-foot, Unionville freshman Isabel McDonough - known to her field hockey teammates as Izzy - often gets lost in the crowd when there are 21 other players on the field. Even when there are only 14 players on the field, as is done for an overtime period, it might not always be easy to spot her. McDonough spotted a Brett Perkins overtime hit from the right side of the goal against sixth-ranked Conestoga on Wednesday. McDonough tapped the ball in to give the 11th-seeded Indians a 2-1 overtime victory over the host Pioneers in the second round of the District 1 Class AAA playoffs.

Iyasu Habtemicael - Izzy - drives a florist truck for $8 an hour most days and then works nights in a University of Pennsylvania parking garage. This leaves him little time to exercise, eat right and manage his diabetes. He also has no health insurance, relying on the city's busy free clinics for care. Because of these factors, compounded by his own belief that he couldn't get in to see a doctor, Izzy nearly died last spring when his diabetes soared out of control. In immense pain and vomiting blood, he went by ambulance to Mercy Philadelphia Hospital, where he spent five days in intensive care.

Iyasu Habtemicael - Izzy - drives a florist truck for $8 an hour most days and then works nights in a University of Pennsylvania parking garage. This leaves him little time to exercise, eat right and manage his diabetes. He also has no health insurance, relying on the city's busy free clinics for care. Because of these factors, compounded by his own belief that he couldn't get in to see a doctor, Izzy nearly died last spring when his diabetes soared out of control. In immense pain and vomiting blood, he went by ambulance to Mercy Philadelphia Hospital, where he spent five days in intensive care.

As former high school classmates and teammates, Izzy Bauta and Naheem Harris are good friends who stay in touch with each other. But when Bauta and Harris line up in the trenches on opposite sides of the line of scrimmage tomorrow night during Villanova's game against arch-rival Penn, their minds will be on the business at hand, except, perhaps, when the action brings the friends together. "It's funny - we don't notice that we bumped into each other until after the play is over," said Harris, the Quakers' 6-foot-1, 285-pound nose guard.

Kids' TV programming is growing increasingly ambitious. Everything is getting supersized as shows push toward feature-length projects both on the big screen (The Bratz movie and the Avatar film being shepherded by M. Night Shyamalan) and the small (the two new cable movies under review). Why? The sell-through and spinoff opportunities dwarf those of a conventional series. The Disney Channel has made a thriving industry of original films, many of them with soundtracks like High School Musical and The Cheetah Girls.

Lav Bauta saw a final chance to be reunited with his two brothers on the football field, but his aspiration to do so came with a potential problem. He realized that if he transferred from Duke to Villanova to be with the younger siblings, Izzy and Imer, he might bump Izzy out of a starting job at offensive tackle - or, at the least, take away some of his playing time. "I was concerned about that," conceded Lav, a 6-foot-5, 280-pound senior. "And we talked about it. But Izzy knew that if he didn't perform at his best, that he was the one who was going to take a step back and go to second team.

That scarecrow in the cornfield looks eerie, doesn't it? Uh-oh, didn't his feet just move? And aren't those talons he's got there instead of toes? In the slow-building Jeepers Creepers 2, the half-man, half-bat, all-demon Creeper wakes from a 23-year nap ready to eat flesh and terrorize folks in the dusty back country of Somewhere, USA. It's a place where the two-lane blacktop is dark and desolate, where CB radios and cell phones lose their signals - and a few unfortunate teenagers lose their heads.

Nazareth's 18-point lead in the third quarter wasn't enough for a victory, but the Fighting Pandas' one-point lead at the final buzzer was. In a game marked by lopsided runs and cold shooting, Nazareth beat Conestoga Valley, 54-53, in the second round of the PIAA Class AAA girls' basketball tournament last night at Coatesville. The Pandas advanced to Saturday's quarterfinal against Berwick, a 61-43 winner over Montoursville. Trailing, 13-11, at the end of the first quarter, Nazareth opened the second period with nine straight.

The 3-year-old boy with a missing left arm ran up and down the courthouse hallway, laughing and playing. Inside the 11th-floor courtroom yesterday, Izzadeen Burgos' mother, Lisa, and other relatives were pleading for mercy for Izzy's father, Dennis Burgos, 28, convicted of shooting the boy inside his Hunting Park home on Feb. 14, 1996. There were more tears when the father, described by the prosecution as a career criminal hooked on drugs who did not care about his son, blubbered to Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Bradley that he loved the boy and would never intentionally shoot him. But after Assistant District Attorney Charles Ehrlich said Burgos had escaped from a prison halfway house and was not thinking of his son when he brought a loaded hunting rifle into the house, Bradley sentenced him to 8 to 20 years in prison.