A Cayuga County Court jury needed about two hours to decide that Shameek Copes is guilty of murdering John Wesley Smith outside an Auburn bar nearly 10 months ago.
Copes showed no emotion as she faced the jury and listened to the foreperson deliver the verdict shortly before 2 p.m. Friday: guilty of second-degree murder and guilty of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
She was quickly whisked from the courtroom by security officers, while the sounds of people crying filled the air. A massive police presence was brought to the courthouse ahead of the verdict in an effort to prevent any violence from breaking out. Throughout the week, dozens of family members and friends of both Copes and Smith filled the courtroom.
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While some shouting matches broke out on Genesee Street outside on Friday afternoon, there did not appear to be any physical fighting.
Friday's proceedings began when Cayuga County District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci and Copes' defense attorney, Rome Canzano, each delivered closing arguments Friday in the case stemming from the聽March 15 shooting death of Smith.
Copes, 28, of 1 Jefferson St., Apt. 1, is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for her role in the March 15 killing of Smith, 37, of Syracuse. Smith was killed in front of Swifty's Tavern on Perrine Street in Auburn around 1:40 a.m.
Grome Antonacci expressed appreciation for the jury's attention during the five-day trial.
鈥淲e are pleased with the jury鈥檚 verdict and commend them for the time and consideration they gave listening to and reviewing the evidence throughout the trial. We hope that this guilty verdict can finally bring John鈥檚 family a sense of closure and justice," Grome Antonacci said in a press release. 鈥淲e have seen too many senseless acts of gun violence, not only in our community, but across the state. Our office, along with our law enforcement partners, are committed to seeking justice in these cases. I commend the thorough investigation conducted by the Auburn Police Department, as well as by members of the New York State Police.鈥
Canzano said the defense respects the verdict but will explore potential issues for appeal.
"We're disappointed with the outcome," he said. "She maintains her innocence."
The trial started Monday with jury selection, which continued into Tuesday morning. Opening statements and testimony began later Tuesday. The prosecution called about 20 witnesses and rested its case on Thursday afternoon. The defense did not call any witnesses.
In his closing remarks, which lasted about 40 minutes, Canzano reiterated his contention made in his opening statement that Copes' guilt has not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt because no witnesses have testified that they saw her possess a gun or shoot and kill Smith.
Canzano also addressed a prosecution witness in the case who testified that he provided a gun to Copes that night, at her request, seconds before Smith was killed.
AUBURN聽鈥 Another person charged with lesser crimes in connection with the deadly shooting outside an Auburn bar last year testified Wednesday …
Adrian Agee, of Auburn, who was arraigned in April on charges related to Smith's death, testified that he was at Swifty's that night celebrating Copes' birthday with a group of people when she started getting upset and asked him to get her a gun. He said he left the bar to retrieve a firearm for Copes and returned, went into the women's bathroom with Copes and gave her the gun. She loaded the chamber, Agee said, before leaving with the weapon.聽
But Canzano said Agee's testimony is undermined because he initially denied giving a gun to Copes when police interviewed him on March 15. And he said Copes' related case, in which he's pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon and hindering prosecution, compelled him to "tell a story" in order to get the best possible outcome in his own case.
"You must discount just about everything he said," Canzano said.
Canzano also pointed out that no DNA matching Copes was found on the gun that a ballistics expert determined fired the bullets that killed Smith, and he highlighted how the gun was determined nearly inoperable when later tested by police.
"You can't get beyond reasonable doubt by ignoring facts and by missing facts," Canzano said.
Prosecutors have said those two facts do not exonerate Copes because the gun was clearly damaged when it was left in a storm drain after the shooting, a situation that also likely removed any DNA from Copes brief time handling it.
Canzano also provided the jury an alternate theory of what happened that night. Noting that five shots were fired before three more shots were fired, he suggested that the case was an accident.
"I submit to you that John Smith was tragically caught in crossfire," Canzano said.
Grome Antonacci said evidence shows that the first five shots came from a third person charged in the incident, Junnell Copes, who is related to Shameek. Junnell was in a vehicle outside the bar at the time. Prosecutors have called Junnell Copes the "catalyst" for what happened. His weapon possession case is pending, and he did not testify at the trial. 聽
In her summation, Grome Antonacci repeatedly referred to video evidence from bar circuit surveillance cameras as the key to showing Copes' guilt.
Both sides presented their opening arguments and six witnesses testified Tuesday in the Cayuga County Court trial of an Auburn woman charged w…
Video clips show Copes going into the women's bathroom with Agee, then coming out and walking out of the bar's front door and turning left just before Smith, who was visible in a window to the left of the door, falls down. Three gun shots can be heard as that is happening.
Grome Antonacci also provided the jury with a zoomed-in still frame from a video camera positioned above the exterior of the front door showing an arm with visible tattoos holding a gun that appears to match Copes' arm.
"It tells you beyond all doubt that she's the shooter," Grome Antonacci said.聽
The prosecutor also addressed suggestions at Agee's testimony was not credible. What Agee told the jury about what happened in the bar, she said, is corroborated in the video clip.
Grome Antonacci asked the jury to dismiss any contention that the shooting of Smith was accidental.
"When you point a gun at somebody, and pull the trigger three times, that's an intentional act," she said, noting that a medical examiner testified that the shots were definitely "kill shots" and not indicative of someone being struck accidentally.
The absence of witnesses who definitely saw the shooting is not unusual in a murder case, Grome Antonacci said. People who were outside at the time have refused to cooperate with law enforcement investigation.
"Murders certainly don't happen in front of a bunch of nuns," she said.
The prosecutor wrapped up her closing remarks after about 30 minutes, and Judge Thomas Leone called for a short recess before instructing the jury. He took about 45 minutes to deliver those instructions, and the jury left to start deliberations around 11:45 a.m.
Copes faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life for the murder charge. Prior to the trial, she had rejected a plea offer in which the prosecution would have agreed to a sentence of 22 years to life on the murder charge.
Her sentencing has tentatively been scheduled for May 4. Grome Antonacci said she will be seeking maximum sentences.
Copes became the primary suspect in Smith's death early in the investigation. On March 21, APD issued a news release saying they wanted to speak with Copes, who was called a "person of interest" at that point. Days later, police declared Copes a suspect in Smith's shooting death, and she turned herself in to the Rock Hill Police Department in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on March 28 after an arrest warrant was issued.
Shameek Copes leaves the courthouse at the conclusion of the fourth day of her murder trial in Auburn Jan. 12. Copes, 28, faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in the shooting death of John Wesley Smith III, 37, in the early morning hours of March 15.
Gallery: Guilty verdict for Auburn woman in shooting death of John Wesley Smith III

A Smith family supporter celebrates a guilty verdict for Shameek Copes in the shooting death of John Wesley Smith III, 37, in the early morning hours of March 15.

A large police presence was on display after a guilty verdict for Shameek Copes in the shooting death of John Wesley Smith III, 37, in the early morning hours of March 15.

A Copes family supporter jeers Smith family supporters after a guilty verdict for Shameek Copes in the shooting death of John Wesley Smith III, 37, in the early morning hours of March 15.

Copes family supporters jeer Smith family supporters after a guilty verdict for Shameek Copes in the shooting death of John Wesley Smith III, 37, in the early morning hours of March 15.

Smith family supporters jeer Copes family supporters after a guilty verdict for Shameek Copes in the shooting death of John Wesley Smith III, 37, in the early morning hours of March 15.

Shameek Copes leaves the courthouse after being found guilty in the shooting death of John Wesley Smith III, 37, in the early morning hours of March 15.

Shameek Copes leaves the courthouse after being found guilty in the shooting death of John Wesley Smith III, 37, in the early morning hours of March 15.

Smith family supporters celebrate a guilty verdict for Shameek Copes in the shooting death of John Wesley Smith III, 37, in the early morning hours of March 15.

Police separate the Smith and Copes supporters Friday after a guilty verdict for Shameek Copes in the shooting death of John Wesley Smith III, 37, in the early morning hours of March 15.

Shameek Copes, of Auburn, leaves the courthouse Jan. 13 after being found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of John Wesley Smith III, 37, in the early morning hours of March 15.

A Copes family supporter jeers Smith family supporters after a guilty verdict for Shameek Copes in the shooting death of John Wesley Smith III, 37, in the early morning hours of March 15.
Jeremy Boyer can be reached at (315) 282-2231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @CitizenBoyer