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Sincere Smith, 23, of New Rochelle, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in relation to the death of Trevon Boswell last year during a spree of violent robberies in Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, and Yonkers.
On May 21 last year, Lee and four others took part in a series of violent incidents that left Boswell, an intended robbery victim, dead.
Smith, Mount Vernon residents Allen “Hat” Copeland, Eric Lee, Bronx resident John Oquendo and Waterbury, Conn. resident Leroy Garcia participated in a conspiracy to commit robberies in Westchester, which led to the death of one of their intended victims. The spree spanned through several cities, including Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, and Yonkers, as well as locations in the Bronx. It lasted several hours.
After successfully completing armed robberies of their fourth and fifth victims, Lee and Smith attempted to rob their sixth victim while Garcia stood as a lookout and Copeland served as a getaway driver, the charges state. When the victim attempted to get away, Lee shot Trevon Boswell in the back in the stairwell to his own residence.
Following the shooting, their spree continued - armed with illegal handguns - to Bonnefoy Place in New Rochelle and the 45th Precinct in the Bronx. According to the indictment, while in the Bronx, near the Mount Vernon border, they attempted to take a chain from around their 11th victim’s neck, and when their cab driver attempted to get the chain back, Lee shot him twice.
The spree continued to Yonkers, where Lee, Smith, Copeland, and Oquendo robbed their victims at a cab stand. In total, during the 12-hour spree, 16 people were victimized, including the shooting death of Boswell.
Law enforcement officials from Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Yonkers, and the NYPD worked together to investigate the spree.
At the time of the spree, Copeland was on parole for a 2014 conviction for possession of a firearm. 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 also on probation supervision for a felony DWI conviction.
Smith is already serving seven years in state prison for an assault charge following an incident last year at a New Rochelle barbershop when he pistol whipped his victim. On Thursday, he was also sentenced to 14 years in prison for a robbery in Ossining in February last year. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on Jan 17 next year.
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