Suspect in Kirkland Shooting Indicted

New York City resident Jabrai Jordan Copney, 20, one of the three men alleged to have been involved in the drug-related shooting death of Justin Cosby in Kirkland House last month, was indicted late Thursday night by a grand jury on charges that include first degree murder and armed robbery.

Copney, who turned himself in to authorities at the Cambridge Police Station on May 21, was also formally charged last night with accessory after the fact of murder, attempt to commit a crime, and possession of a firearm, according to Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone.

The day after his arrest, Copney was arraigned in Cambridge District Court on the same charges as the was ones he was indicted for last night, except without the counts of armed robbery and attempt to commit a crime. At that arraignment, he pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail.

Jessica Venezia, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney's office, said she would defer comment about why the charges have expanded until after Copney's arraignment in superior court, for which a date has not yet been scheduled. She said that last night's indictment was necessary for Copney to be tried in superior court, the highest court that he would be arraigned in, and that no indictment had been needed for the earlier hearing in the lower court.

Copney is the first of two men arrested so far in connection with the shooting, which took place on the afternoon of May 18. The second man, Blayn "Bliz" Jiggetts, 20, of Mount Vernon, New York, was arrested on June 9 by Massachusetts State Police in Harlem.

The following day, Jiggetts refused at his court appearance to voluntarily return to Massachusetts to face charges, which included first degree murder and armed robbery. He has since been jailed without bail and will return to Manhattan Criminal Court again on July 8, where prosecutors will likely present a governor's warrant to extradite Jiggetts to Massachusetts to answer for his charges.

Investigators have said that the third man suspected of being involved in the shooting remains at large.

According to prosecutors, Cosby, a Cambridge resident, suffered an apparent gunshot wound to the abdomen during a failed "drug rip" in the Harvard dormitory. He was seen stumbling out of the dorm and was transported to Beth Israel Hospital, where he was pronounced dead the next day.

Investigations by University, Massachusetts, and Cambridge police have determined that Copney and two other suspects, none of whom were Harvard students, had arranged for and attended the meeting with Cosby. After the shooting, they fled the scene and returned to New York City via bus that evening. Prosecutors say they found $1,000 in cash and a pound of marijuana near Cosby.

Two Harvard students, Chanequa N. Campbell '09 and Brittany J. Smith '09, are alleged to have given swipe-card access to the victim and suspects, allowing them to enter the basement of the dormitory. Although Campbell, through her lawyer, has denied the allegations and said she does not know the victim, the two students were barred from graduation in late May.

A Crimson investigation found that Campbell was the subject of a serious disciplinary investigation by the College during her freshman year, although friends have come to her defense and said that it is unlikely she would be involved with any criminal activity.

The statement released by the Middlesex District Attorney's office said that the investigation into the circumstances of the shootings, as well as into those involved in or knowledgeable about the incident, continues. It also noted that the charges pressed on Copney are allegations and that he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

—Staff writer Peter F. Zhu can be reached at pzhu@fas.harvard.edu

CORRECTION: An earlier online version of the June 26 article "Suspect in Kirkland Shooting Indicted" incorrectly stated that Jabrai Jordan Copney pleaded guilty at an arraignment in Cambridge last month. In fact, Copney pleaded not guilty, and the text of the article has been updated to reflect the error.