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Tamir Phillips of Bensalem was found guilty of murder and weapons offenses after a jury trial, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw.
The investigation began the afternoon of August 21, 2021, when Willingboro Township police officers were called to the Phillips 66 gas station in the first block of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive for a report of a shooting.
Upon arrival, they learned that the victim, 14-year-old Jesse Everett of Willingboro, had been transported in a private vehicle to Virtua Willingboro Hospital, Bradshaw said. He was then airlifted to Cooper University Medical Center in Camden, where he was pronounced dead at 5:24 p.m.
Phillips, who was known to stay in Willingboro, was immediately identified as a suspect in the shooting, and charges were filed against him the next day.
The investigation revealed that a day before the shooting, the owner of a 2014 Honda Civic had contacted township police to report that the vehicle had been stolen.
Everett, 14, was apparently driving the Honda Civic reported stolen, Bradshaw previously said.
The sedan owner would often allow Phillips to use the car, police said.
The investigation further revealed that just prior to the shooting, Phillips was riding in a vehicle when the stolen car was spotted at the pumps of the gas station.
The driver pulled into the gas station and came to a stop behind the Civic, which was being driven by Everett. Phillips exited and went to the driver’s side of the Civic, where he confronted Everett before firing a single shot into the vehicle, striking him in the head, Bradshaw said. Two other people were inside the car with Everett, but did not sustain injuries.
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