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Taylor Perkins, 30, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia Bradshaw said in a news release on Friday, Oct. 25. He was found guilty in the death of 36-year-old Michael Jefferies of Mount Laurel.
Mount Laurel police responded to a report of two men fighting at the Rodeway Inn on Route 73 at around 10 a.m. on Thursday, Apr. 20, 2023. Officers found Jefferies' body on the ground near a stairwell and outside of a second-floor room.
Investigators said after Perkins stabbed Jefferies, he ran to a nearby BMW dealership and drove off in an SUV. Perkins ditched the SUV in Evesham Township and stole an Xfinity employee's truck while he was working up on a ladder.
Perkins was eventually arrested at a home on Decatur Street in Camden. An autopsy confirmed Jefferies died from several stab wounds.
Perkins was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and eluding, two counts of third-degree theft by unlawful taking, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.
The jury deliberated for about five hours in August before finding Perkins guilty.
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