5 Indicted In 12-Hour Violent Crime Spree

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Five area men were indicted in connection with a 12-hour violent crime spree that resulted charges ranging from murder and attempted murder to assault and criminal weapon possession. The Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. announced the indictments Monday. Eric Lee, Sincere Smith, Allen Copeland, Leroy Garcia and John Oquendo pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Scarpino said the Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Yonkers and New York City Police Departments should be commended for their cooperation and hard work that brought this spree to a swift end. [Get Patch’s Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts here.]

“This was a vicious crime spree, leaving a trail of innocent victims including one senseless death,” he said. “The evidence in this case will reveal an appalling level of depravity and violence that will not be tolerated in Westchester.”

During the course of the crime spree, the five defendants allegedly victimized 16 innocent people, including the shooting death of Boswell, shooting and causing serious physical injury to another victim and assaulting another victim using a handgun. Authorities said this violent group brought terror to several communities in Westchester County and surrounding jurisdictions beginning around 5:30 p.m. on May 21, 2017 and ending around 5:30 a.m. on May 22, 2017.

According to Scarpino, on May 21, 2017, defendant Allen Copeland, also known as “Hat,” using an illegal handgun, shot at Victim-1 in the area of 3rd Street and Union Avenue in the City of Mount Vernon.

On May 21, 2017, defendant Eric Lee, also known as “Bubba,” using an illegal handgun, shot at Victim-2 and Victim-3 in the area of 4th Avenue in the City of Mount Vernon.

Between May 21, 2017 and May 22, 2017, defendants Eric Lee, Sincere Smith, Allen Copeland, Leroy Garcia and John Oquendo allegedly participated in a conspiracy to commit robberies which led to the murder of victim Trevon Boswell, an intended robbery victim. This alleged robbery conspiracy spanned throughout several jurisdictions – the City of Mount Vernon, the City of New Rochelle, and the City of Yonkers in Westchester County as well as various robberies in the County of the Bronx, New York – and lasted several hours.

According to the charges in the 50-count conspiracy indictment, defendants Lee, Smith, Copeland and Garcia conspired to commit robberies in Mount Vernon. They began by attempting to rob Victim-4 and completing an armed robbery of Victim-5 in Mount Vernon. Lee and Smith attempted to rob Victim-6, Trevon Boswell, while Garcia stood as the lookout and Copeland acted as the getaway driver.

When Boswell tried to get away, Lee allegedly shot Boswell in the back in the stairwell to his own residence. Lee and Smith then robbed Victim-7 in the vestibule of an apartment building in the 47th Precinct in the Bronx. Lee, Smith and Copeland then recruited the fifth defendant Oquendo and sought additional robbery victims.

Lee, Smith, Copeland and Oquendo, armed with illegal handguns, robbed Victim-8, Victim-9 and Victim-10 in the area of Bonnefoy Place in New Rochelle. Next, the men traveled to the 45th Precinct of the Bronx (Coop City area) and robbed Victim-11 of a chain from around his neck. When Victim-11’s cab driver (Victim-12) attempted to get the chain back, LEE shot Victim-12 two times with his illegal handgun.

Lee, Smith, Copeland and Oquendo robbed Victim-13 of his jewelry in the 47th Precinct of the Bronx, near the Mount Vernon border. Finally, Lee, Smith, Copeland and Oquendo robbed Victim-14, Victim-15 and Victim-16 inside a cab stand in Yonkers, holding them at gunpoint.

Several law enforcement agencies, including the City of Mount Vernon Police Department, the City of New Rochelle Police Department, the City of Yonkers Police Department and the City of New York Police Department, collaboratively worked, using old-fashioned police work and a little bit of technology, to get these violent offenders off the streets, Scarpino said. Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crimes Safe Streets Task Force, assisted by the East Haven (Connecticut) Police Department and the Waterbury (Connecticut) Police Department were responsible for located and arresting defendant Leroy Garcia, who had been a fugitive until July 7, 2017.

William F. Sweeney Jr., assistant director in charge of the FBI New York Field Office, said the defendants showed no regard for human life after allegedly killing one of the victims in the early hours of their crime spree.

“They went on for many more hours, continuing to terrorize several communities, with no fear of getting caught or thought to stopping,” he said.

Lee, Smith, Copeland and Oquendo were remanded. Garcia remains in jail in Connecticut pending extradition to New York.

Eric Lee (DOB: 12/10/1991) had absconded from parole. He was under supervision for a 2012 conviction for robbery in the first degree. Lee has also been indicted for Promoting Prison Contraband in the First Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree for possessing dangerous instruments found in his jail cell while incarcerated on the murder charges, which he intended to use to harm corrections officers at the Westchester County Jail.

Justin Pruyne, Deputy Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Correction said, “Mr. Lee’s felony indictments for assaulting another prisoner and possessing a weapon reaffirm the commitment of the District Attorney and County Executive to public safety, including for all officers, staff and inmates. The Department of Correction stands ready to provide assistance to its partner agencies in all serious cases, including crimes occurring within our own facilities.”

Copeland was on parole for a 2014 conviction for possession of a firearm, and has an additional indictment pending charging him with second-degree attempted murder, second-degree assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for shooting an innocent victim in Yonkers on May 20, 2017.

Garcia had three New York warrants, including one from the Westchester County Department of Probation, as well as warrants in the State of Connecticut. He was on probation supervision for pleading guilty to felony driving while intoxicated.

The next court date for the five men is August 9, 2017.

* * * *

Indictment 1

People v. Allen Copeland, 17-0631

• Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, class B felony
• Attempted Assault in the First Degree, class C felony
• Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, class C felony – 2 counts

On May 21, 2017, in the City of Mount Vernon, New York, Allen Copeland a/k/a “Hat” is accused of shooting at an innocent victim.

For these charges, Copeland is facing a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 25 years in prison if he is convicted on this indictment.

* * * *

Indictment 2

People v. Eric Lee, 17-0630

• Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, class B felony
• Attempted Assault in the First Degree, class C felony
• Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, class C felony – 2 counts

On May 21, 2017, in the City of Mount Vernon, New York, Eric Lee a/k/a “Bubba” is accused of shooting at two innocent victims.

For these charges, Lee is facing a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 25 years in prison if he is convicted on this indictment.

* * * *

Indictment 3

People v. Eric Lee, Sincere Smith, Allen Copeland, Leroy Garcia & John Oquendo, 17-0561

Indictment 4

People v. Eric Lee, 17-0706

• Promoted Prison Contraband in the First Degree, class D felony
• Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, class D felony

On July 3, 2017, in the Town of Mount Pleasant, New York, Eric Lee is accused of possessing sharpened metal objects that he intended to use to harm correction officers at the Westchester County Jail.

For these charges, Lee is facing a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 4 years in prison if he is convicted on this indictment.

* * * *

Indictment 5

People v. Allen Copeland, 17-0552

• Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, class B felony
• Attempted Assault in the First Degree, class C felony
• Assault in the Second Degree, class D felony
• Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, class C felony

On May 20, 2017, in the City of Yonkers, New York, Allen Copeland is accused of shooting at an innocent victim.

This indictment was previously filed in June 2017. For these charges, Copeland is facing a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 25 years in prison if he is convicted on this indictment.

Image via Shutterstock.