In the early morning hours of November 18, 2017, the life of 21-year-old Xavier Jordan Shepley, a Black / African American male, was tragically cut short in his Ames, Iowa apartment. What began as a seemingly ordinary social encounter, initiated through the social media platform Snapchat, quickly devolved into a fatal robbery. Shepley had been communicating with a woman and invited her to his home. Unbeknownst to him, this was part of a calculated plan.
Two women, Albrea R.
Winfrey and Jordan N. Bryant, arrived at Shepley's apartment. Their purpose was not a social visit, but to facilitate a robbery by their boyfriends, Anthony E. English and Demario D. Woods, who were waiting outside. After gaining entry, one of the women left the apartment door unlocked, allowing two masked men to barge in. One of the men brandished a handgun and demanded Shepley's belongings. A physical altercation ensued, during which the gunman struck Shepley in the head with the weapon. As they struggled for control of the gun, a shot was fired, striking Shepley in the upper torso. The four suspects then fled the scene. Xavier Shepley was transported to Mary Greeley Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into Shepley's death was complex, involving the analysis of a significant amount of digital evidence, including social media communications and surveillance videos. Investigators were eventually able to identify the four individuals involved. In February 2019, Albrea R. Winfrey, then 24, Jordan N. Bryant, 25, Anthony E. English, 28, and Demario D. Woods, 25, were all charged with first-degree murder. At the time the charges were announced, Bryant, English, and Woods were already in the custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections on unrelated charges. Winfrey was arrested and held on a million-dollar cash bond. Anthony English was later convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery for his role in the death of Xavier Shepley.
