In the light of a spring day in Rochester, New York, a burst of violence irrevocably shattered the lives of a family. On March 31, 2014, Sir-Cordae Hightower, a 27-year-old male, was gunned down in the driveway of a residence on Wilkins Street. The attack, shockingly brazen, occurred in broad daylight and was witnessed by Hightower's own sister, Twynette. He was shot four times in what prosecutors would later describe as an unprovoked assault.
Friends rushed him to Rochester General Hospital, but his injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead.
The man responsible for the shooting, 34-year-old Khaleef Reed, fled the Rochester area in the aftermath of the killing. His time as a fugitive was short-lived, however. A week later, on April 7, 2014, he was apprehended in Jonesboro, Georgia, through the collaborative efforts of the Rochester Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service. His capture marked the beginning of the legal proceedings that would follow.
Khaleef Reed was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Sir-Cordae Hightower. Following a trial in Monroe County, a jury found him guilty of the charge. The prosecution highlighted the senseless nature of the crime, emphasizing the lasting trauma inflicted upon Hightower's sister who witnessed her brother's execution. On January 30, 2015, Reed was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for his crime, bringing a measure of closure to a case that had so tragically cut short a young man's life.
