A man from Pennsylvania has been sentenced to 30 years in state prison after he was found guilty of shooting and killing a teenager at a gas station in Willingboro, New Jersey, three years ago.
24-year-old Tamir Phillips, of Bensalem, was convicted by a jury in November of 2023 of murder and unlawful possession of a weapon among other charges. He must serve all 30 years of his sentence before he will be eligible for parole.
On August 21, 2021, police officers with the Willingboro Police Department were called to the Phillips 66 gas station located at 99 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Willingboro Township for a report of a shooting, officials said.
Once officers arrived to the scene, they were told that 14-year-old Jesse Everett was taken to a nearby hospital before he was airlifted to another hospital where he was pronounced dead.
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During the investigation, officials discovered that the owner of a 2014 Honda Civic had called the police to report that the car had been stolen.
The owner of the Civic would sometimes let Phillips borrow the vehicle, but at the time of the shooting, he was riding as a passenger in a different car.
The person driving the car with Phillips as a passenger pulled into the gas station and parked behind the Civic that was being driven by Everett, police said.
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This is when Phillips got out and walked over to Everett on the driver's side of the Civic, officials said. He confronted the teen and then fired a single gunshot into the car which hit Everett in the head.
Police said there were two other people in the car with Everett, but they were not hurt during the incident.
