On a cold February day in Rochester, New York, the lives of three young people were tragically cut short. Michael Nelson, a 24-year-old Black man, was found deceased on February 24, 2014, although his death occurred two days earlier on February 22. He was not alone; with him were 24-year-old Jacquelyn Simmons and her 21-year-old cousin, Jermeliah Simmons. The three friends were discovered inside an apartment on Chili Avenue, victims of a brutal triple homicide.
The incident stemmed from a dispute involving a marijuana trafficking ring, with authorities stating that the killings were in retaliation for a theft from the operation.
The investigation into the murders led to the arrests of three men: Marlando Allen, Steve Fulcott, and Andre McFarlane. In April 2014, the trio was arraigned on murder charges. Allen and Fulcott were charged with three counts of first-degree murder, while McFarlane faced one count of first-degree murder. The legal proceedings that followed would stretch out over several years, with differing outcomes for the accused.
In a significant turn of events, Steve Fulcott was acquitted of the murder and weapons charges against him in February 2016, following a five-week trial. However, he was found guilty of a lesser charge of criminal possession of marijuana. The path to justice for the victims' families continued, eventually leading to a resolution in the case against one of the other suspects.
After years of legal maneuvering, which included questions about his mental fitness to stand trial, Marlando Allen pleaded guilty in September 2020 to three counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of Michael Nelson, Jacquelyn Simmons, and Jermeliah Simmons. His guilty plea brought a degree of closure to a case that had haunted the community for more than six years. Allen was scheduled for sentencing in November of that year, facing a potential sentence of 15 years to life in prison.
