Man sentenced to life for murder of aspiring musician at Chamblee QuikTrip
Leroy Starr Copney, Jr. (Chamblee Police Department)
CHAMBLEE, Ga. - A known gang member who was behind a deadly 2016 shooting of an aspiring musician at the Chamblee QuikTrip has been sentenced to life without parole plus 55 years in prison this weekend.
Leroy Starr Copney, Jr., 49, was convicted of murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, criminal street gang activity, and weapons offenses stemming from the shooting death of 30-year-old Andrew Spencer at the QuikTrip on Buford Highway in Chamblee on Dec. 30, 2016.
CHAMBLEE POLICE SEARCH FOR TWO MEN CONNECTED TO DEADLY QT SHOOTING
Chamblee police investigate a deadly shooting at the QuikTrip on Buford Highway on Dec. 30, 2016. (FOX 5)
Copney, a 30-year member of the "All Star Gangstas," a New York subset of the infamous "Bloods" criminal street gang, stopped in at the QT with a few friends for snacks after a night out at the club. A short time later, Spencer showed up at the store and the two got into an argument after he bumped into Copney or reached for a hot dog at the same.
Police said the Copney went back to his crew’s silver sleek Masareti Quattroporte that was registered to Jilani Ade Bakhari. Bakhari used a key fob to unlock the car door and Copney retrieved a handgun from the Maserati and waited for two victims to leave the QT.
Andrew Spencer (Family photo)
Copney asked Spencer "What’s poppin’?, inquiring to if Spencer was a member of the Bloods gang. He was not. Copney then followed the men to the gas pump, fired six shot, striking Spencer in the chest, but missing his friend. Spencer died at the scene.
Copney testified Spencer’s friend had a gun and threatened him, but the store’s surveillance video told another story.
The Masareti Quattroporte that Chamblee police say was used in a deadly shooting on Dec. 30, 2016 was found at a Sandy Springs apartment days later. (Chamblee Police Department)
Copney and his crew went on the run. He was caught a little more than a year later in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Police found him with an AK-47 with a red bandana wrapped around the stock and a Glock handgun. After pleading guilty to federal charges, he was extradited to DeKalb County.
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