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New Castle, Delaware resident Eric Williams, age 24, was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison for the 2021 fatal shooting of 22-year-old Wilmington, Delaware resident Jabree West in Yonkers, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office announced on Friday, Aug. 11.
According to DA officials, on the day of the murder, June 20, 2021, around 4:30 a.m., Williams used a 9mm semi-automatic pistol to shoot West once in the back of the head while he was sleeping on the stoop of a residential building on Bronx River Road in Yonkers.
The shooting had followed a personal conflict between Williams and West, who had been in New York together on a trip.
After he was shot, West was taken to New York-Presbyterian Westchester Hospital in Bronxville, where he was pronounced dead.
While investigating the shooting after West's death, Yonkers Police were able to find surveillance footage that showed Williams walking back and forth in front of the building where West had been sleeping. In this footage, Williams appeared to rack the slide of his gun before walking off camera.
A gunshot could then be heard around a minute after this, followed by Williams quickly walking away from the scene. More surveillance videos found by authorities also depicted Williams walking around Yonkers for hours before getting picked up and driven back to Delaware, DA officials said.
After recovering West's cell phone, police found numerous photos and videos of Williams and West together during their New York trip.
Months after the murder, using digital forensics, authorities were able to arrest Williams as he left his father's Staten Island home on Dec. 19, 2021, at which time he made numerous admissions.
Authorities never found the weapon used in the shooting.
Williams was found guilty of both second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon after a four-week trial in June.
"Due to the tireless efforts of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners, justice has been served for this ruthless and cold-blooded murder," Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah said of the sentencing.
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