Jlynn Reeves, a 36-year-old man, was shot and killed on the evening of December 12, 2014, in Mount Vernon, New York. The fatal encounter occurred inside the Levister Towers apartment building located at 70 West Third Street. Reeves had entered the lobby shortly before 10:00 p.m. where he was met by Phillip Copeland, a 28-year-old resident of the building.
Surveillance footage from the lobby captured a heated verbal exchange between the two men that lasted for approximately two minutes.
Following the argument, Copeland walked towards a basement stairwell, with Reeves following close behind. Out of the view of the camera, gunshots rang out. A security guard in the building heard the shots and promptly alerted his supervisor, who then contacted 911. Copeland was seen on video hurriedly walking back into the building shortly after the gunshots were heard. When police arrived, they discovered Reeves's body at the bottom of the basement stairs, surrounded by several spent shell casings. An autopsy later revealed he had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his neck, chest, abdomen, liver, spleen, and kidney.
The investigation quickly centered on Copeland. The security guard showed detectives the surveillance video, which allowed them to identify Copeland. A detective recognized him from the footage when Copeland exited a first-floor apartment around 11:29 p.m. When questioned, detectives noticed he was wearing a distinctive sweatshirt seen in the video. A pat-down revealed a loaded. 380 caliber automatic pistol hidden in his sock. Ballistic analysis later confirmed this was the weapon used to kill Reeves.
Copeland was arrested at the scene and initially charged with weapons possession. The charges were later upgraded to murder. He pleaded guilty to one count of Murder in the Second Degree and one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree. On October 20, 2015, Phillip Copeland was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the murder of Jlynn Reeves.
