Suspect Pleads Not Guilty in Harvard Shooting Case

MEDFORD, Mass.—Jabrai J. Copney, a 20-year-old New York resident, pled not guilty to charges of first-degree murder for a Monday shooting in Kirkland J-entryway that led to the death of 21-year-old Cambridge resident Justin Cosby early the next morning.

Copney, a New York songwriter, turned himself in to the Cambridge Police Thursday evening, according to the District Attorney’s office of Middlesex County. He pled not guilty during his arraignment Friday morning in Cambridge District Court in Medford, Mass., where a judge ruled he would be held without bail until his July 15 hearing.

District Attorney Gerard T. Leone, Jr. '85 announced Friday morning that two female Harvard students are linked to the incident and allowed those involved to gain entry to Kirkland House.

Leone declined to comment on what if any charges might be pressed against the two Harvard students, whose identities were not disclosed. But one of the two Harvard students tied to the incident has been asked to leave campus and will not be allowed to graduate in June, the Boston Globe reported on Saturday.

“This is a highly educated, independent young woman who has literally been cared for since she was a teenager by Harvard—and now they have terminated her right to be on campus,” Jeffrey T. Karp, the woman’s lawyer, told the Globe. “There is no justification for it. She may have known the people involved, but you know, it’s not guilt by association in this country.”

Karp declined to identify his client, who is a Kirkland resident from Brooklyn.

Karp and Harvard officials did not return requests for comment from The Crimson Saturday.
 
Copney, along with two male individuals from New York, allegedly confronted Cosby in the basement of Kirkland J-entryway Monday afternoon. Three shots were fired, and one struck Cosby in the abdomen. The DA’s office has yet to say whether Copney or one of his cohorts pulled the trigger.

After the incident, Copney and the two individuals accompanying him allegedly fled the scene and headed toward Lowell House, where they met an unidentified witness, according to Assistant District Attorney Daniel Bennett. Copney then told the witness, "there was a fight, and then a shooting," Bennett said.

Soon after, Copney allegedly took a cab to South Station with the two individuals and left the city for New York.

Around the same time, Cosby stumbled down Dunster Street, where he was found by witnesses and eventually collapsed on the sidewalk asking for water.

Police later recovered a weapon that matched a description given by one witness of the weapon allegedly carried by Copney as he left Kirkland that day, said Bennett.

Copney had been in contact with Cosby several times leading up to the incident on Monday to set up a meeting in Kirkland J-entryway, Bennett said at the arraignment, though he gave no more information about the extent of their relationship.

Officials said this morning that they did not know whether Copney was dealing drugs on campus; his connection to Harvard appears to stem from his relationship with a long-time girlfriend—a Harvard senior he has visited frequently over the past two years, said Copney’s defense attorney J. W. Carney.

In a press conference earlier Friday morning, Leone, the district attorney, said that a pound of marijuana and approximately $1,000 was found on or near Cosby after he had been shot. He added that Copney had planned to scam Cosby for the drugs and money. On Wednesday evening, The Crimson reported that Cosby has been linked to drug sales to Harvard students.

Cosby’s family and friends attended Friday’s arraignment hearing, during which some of them left in tears.

Between Monday and the time of his arrest, Copney reportedly left for New York and returned to Cambridge only to leave again, telling an unidentified witness that he was going to leave for South Carolina, where his family lives, Bennett said.

But upon hearing of the status of the investigation from friends, Copney contacted an attorney and learned that he would likely be charged with first-degree murder and be held without bail.

Understanding the charges he would face, Copney then surrendered to Cambridge Police Thursday evening.

Copney, whose father is a retired New York police officer and whose mother worked for the City of New York, graduated from a performing arts high school in the city. At 15, he wrote "Feelin’ It," a song performed by the R&B/pop group New Edition.

In brief remarks to the court, Carney, the defendant’s attorney, sought to humanize his client, detailing his personal aspirations and his family background.

"When I say he is a professional songwriter it is both a dream and a reality for this man," Carney said.

Though the two individuals with Copney at the time of the shooting have yet to be apprehended, Leone, the DA, stated Friday morning that he does not believe there to be a safety risk at Harvard.

—Staff writer Eric P. Newcomer can be reached at newcomer@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer June Q. Wu can be reached at junewu@fas.harvard.edu.