Eric Williams convicted of killing friend in Yonkers in 2021

A Crips gang member was convicted of second-degree murder Monday in the shooting of a friend on Bronx River Road in Yonkers two years ago.

Jurors in Westchester County Court rejected Eric Williams’ testimony that Jabree West was killed early on June 20, 2021 by a mystery man who had shown up to buy a gun from West. Prosecutors had argued that the killing resulted from a personal feud and that Williams had just found out that his girlfriend’s past romantic relationship with West continued longer than he knew.

Moments after the verdict was read, Ebony Mays, the victim's mother from New Castle, Delaware, thanked the prosecutors and detectives in the hallway outside the courtroom and then walked over to Williams' parents, wrapped them in a hug and held their hands.

"I'm relieved, I'm thankful to God because without Him this could not have been possible, I'm overjoyed to have justice for my son and yet still sorrowful," she said later. "That family over there has also lost a son."

West, 22, was from Wilmington and Williams was also living in Delaware in 2021 when they visited New York in mid June.

Prosecutors Nadine Nagler and Adrian Murphy presented evidence that West was shot as he slept at 4:31 a.m. on the stoop at 463 Bronx River Road, shortly after Williams had called his girlfriend. The call followed a lengthy text exchange in which Williams expressed heartache and anger over reading texts on West’s phone about his relationship with the woman.

Guilty verdict: Man found guilty in fatal shooting of his romantic rival in Yonkers

Jurors saw video of Williams racking a gun he said was different than the one West was trying to sell but the shooting itself was not recorded.

“Nothing screams intent more than a shot to the back of the head, a shot to the brain,” Nagler told jurors in closing arguments Friday, adding that the only reason Williams racked the gun was because he planned to use it.

But the defense argued that Williams was the victim of tunnel vision by detectives and prosecutors who focused on him as the killer simply because they knew he had been with West leading up to the shooting.

Police recovered West’s cell phone at the scene and found pictures of Williams in it. Cell phone records showed the two men had been together all weekend.

Authorities were tracking Williams’ cell phone six months later when it “pinged” at a home in Staten Island. Police found him there with a weapon and he was charged in the West killing after being interviewed for more than five hours by Yonkers Detectives Jonathan Blake and Sean Concannon.

During the interrogation, which was played for the jury, Williams made apparent admissions, including that he had “killed a killer”, calling West a "demon". On the witness stand, he explained that he didn’t mean that he had actually killed, only that he had enabled the killing because he didn’t have any money that morning to get an Uber to get them back to Harlem.

He never once mentioned to the detectives that West was trying to sell a gun or that the prospective buyer was the killer.

Defense lawyer Lynda Visco argued that the detectives had coerced the statement and repeatedly cut him off when he made any effort to deny being the killer. She said he believed he had been brought in only as a witness and the code of the street prevented him from telling what he knew.

"He wanted to get out of that room without snitching so he told them what they wanted to hear," Visco said.

Williams testified that he and West had spent the evening in Mount Vernon and then were trying to connect with someone who would buy West’s gun.

He claimed they walked into Yonkers and met up with a friend of West’s who was setting up a meeting with the buyer. Williams detailed how the sale fell through but that West was angry that instead of getting $800 by electronic exchange he had sent the money. While trying to get the money back, Williams claimed, a physical altercation ensued and the buyer got the gun and shot West after Williams had run off towards an alley.

Williams said he and West were both members of the Eight Trey Crips gang and that he had bonded with him and didn't want to hurt him.

But shortly before West was killed, Williams had been texting with his girlfriend and seemed angry over her relationship with West, who had previously posted online a video of him having sex with the woman. Visco pointed out that Williams' relationship with the woman was toxic so he had no reason to kill West to protect her honor.

Williams, 24, is serving a 2-year state prison term for the gun he was found with at the time of his arrest. He faces a minimum of 15 years to life in prison and a maximum of 25 years to life for killing West. He was returned to prison to await sentencing, which acting state Supreme Court Justice Robert Neary scheduled for Aug. 11.

Mays said it was infuriating watching the interrogation because of the way Williams spoke about her son. She said he typically had moments of trouble, but described him as someone who loved to dance and always wanted to make a brand for himself, whether it be in art, tattoos or clothing.

"My goal is to keep him alive as long as I can," she said. "I miss him. I miss his laugh. But with justice being served today I know he's smiling down on us."

She said Williams' parents offered their condolences at the start of the trial and throughout there were small instances of grace between them, holding doors, saying good morning, and she wanted to return that after the verdict.

"Today I also felt so sorrowful for them," she said. "This was the act of their son. It does not define them as parents."

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Jabree West shooting: Crips gang member convicted of killing