In the winter of 2020, a native of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Terrell Antonyo Cohen, a 40-year-old man, lost his life in a violent encounter. On the afternoon of December 17, 2020, Cohen and another individual, Elijah Ross, were on James H. Young Street in Spartanburg when they were approached by Jolyne Rector-Mills and at least one other person.
The encounter turned into an attempted robbery. As Cohen tried to flee the scene, he was shot by Rector-Mills.
The wound proved to be fatal, and Cohen was pronounced deceased at the scene. Not far from where Cohen lay, members of the Spartanburg Police Department discovered Ross inside a vehicle, having been shot multiple times. Ross was transported to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center for treatment.
In the days that followed, law enforcement officials began their investigation. Based on witness accounts and a tip regarding his whereabouts, authorities were able to track down Jolyne Rector-Mills. Five days after the shooting, he was apprehended in Thomasville, North Carolina. The investigation into any other individuals who may have been involved in the incident continued.
Jolyne Rector-Mills, who was 19 at the time of his sentencing, eventually pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. In February 2023, a Circuit Court Judge sentenced him to twenty-five years in prison for voluntary manslaughter and a concurrent five-year sentence for the weapons charge.
