DA Sini Announces Guilty Plea of Bellport Man for Killing 5 People in 2018 Ridge Motor Vehicle Crash
Central Islip, NY - March 29, 2019 - Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini today announced the guilty plea of a Bellport man for causing the death of five individuals and causing serious physical injury to a sixth victim in a motor vehicle crash on Feb. 14, 2018, in Ridge. The crash also caused the death of the defendant’s dog.
Jamel Turner, 25, of Bellport, pleaded guilty today to five counts of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, B felony; six counts of Assault in the First Degree, a B violent felony; one count of Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs, an unclassified misdemeanor; and one count of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a B felony.
“Our job is to deliver justice on behalf of the victims and their families; this is a significant sentence that does just that,” District Attorney Sini said. “This is a dangerous individual, and he will now be off the streets for a very long time. This would not have been possible without the great work of the Suffolk County Police Department and the prosecutors in this case, Brendan Ahern, Carl Borelli and Ashley Moruzzi.”
He faces a sentence of 27 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced by Suffolk County Acting Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho on May 7.
On Feb. 14, 2018, at approximately 11:20 a.m., Turner was driving a 2018 Chevrolet Camaro SS, which was reported stolen, eastbound on Route 25 when he crashed into a 2012 Mazda that was also traveling eastbound.
At the time of the crash, Turner was driving the vehicle at a speed of 154 mph.
The Camaro then struck an oil truck traveling westbound and the Mazda struck a 1999 Infiniti traveling eastbound.
The four passengers in the Mazda, who were identified as Jacquelyn McCoy, 55, of Calverton; her daughter, Mary Alice Booker, 36, of Riverhead; McCoy’s son, Anthony McCoy, 33, and his girlfriend, Tameka Foster, 42, were pronounced dead at the scene by the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. The cause of death for all four victims was determined to be blunt force trauma and thermal injuries, indicating that they were still alive following the impact.
Lonidell Skinner, 19, of Bellport, who was a passenger in the Camaro, was ejected from the vehicle on impact and was pronounced dead at the scene. Turner’s dog, Prince, was also ejected from the Camaro and died.
Turner was operating the vehicle while impaired by marijuana and was in possession of crack cocaine at the time of the incident.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Brendan Ahern, Bureau Chief of the Vehicular Crime Bureau, Carl Borelli, Deputy Bureau Chief of the Vehicular Crime Bureau, and Ashley Moruzzi, of the District Court Bureau.
Turner was also charged with Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree for selling cocaine on three occasions in August and September 2017. That case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jacob Kubetz, of the Enhanced Prosecution Bureau.