GAINESVILLE, Fla. – R’jay Jaron Copeland, 17, is facing adult charges as an alleged accessory after the fact in connection with an Aug. 7 shooting at Lewis Place Apartments.
Gainesville Police Department officers were called to Lewis Place Apartments, 4121 NE 15th Street, at approximately 7:25 p.m. after reports of gunfire. They found two victims at the scene, including one who had suffered a graze wound to the cheek.
The victims told investigators they had been outside Building 1 when a white Nissan sedan entered the parking lot. According to their accounts, one individual—identified below as the first witness—got out and approached them. They identified 16-year-old Peter Roman, who is also charged as an adult, as the front-seat passenger and Copeland as the driver. A third occupant, seated in the back, is referred to as the second witness.
The first victim said he and the second victim began walking toward the sedan because they intended to “go smoke.” He told police that Copeland then started driving away while Roman, also known as “P3,” leaned out of the front passenger window and fired several rounds from a handgun. One of the bullets reportedly grazed the victim’s cheek.
The second victim said he did not see the shooter, but confirmed that he knew all three males inside the vehicle at the time of the incident.
The first witness, who had initially been riding in the back seat, reportedly told investigators that the victims were standing in an apartment breezeway when the sedan entered the lot. He said Roman told him he “need[ed] to pick a side.” After seeing Roman rack a handgun, the witness said he exited the vehicle. He then reportedly saw Roman fire multiple rounds toward the victims as the sedan left the complex. The witness also said all three occupants put on ski masks shortly before the shooting.
Another witness at the scene reportedly corroborated the identities of the three people who had been inside the sedan.
Investigators reportedly recovered six .45-caliber bullets near the complex’s front entrance. No damage was found on nearby buildings or vehicles, but officers observed a scratch on the first victim’s cheek, which was consistent with his account that gunfire had been directed at him.
Surveillance footage reportedly captured a Black male leaning through the front passenger-side window of the white sedan and aiming a firearm at the victims as the vehicle exited the parking lot.
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Following the shooting, Roman and Copeland reportedly placed multiple calls to their parents. Both declined to return to the scene to speak with officers.
The second witness reportedly provided a different detail, saying he saw the first victim pull out a handgun equipped with a purple laser and point it toward the sedan. He said Copeland then removed a pistol from his waistband, racked the slide and handed the weapon to Roman. According to the witness, the first victim put his gun back in his waistband but continued approaching the vehicle. Roman allegedly told Copeland to “pull out,” prompting Copeland to drive away. The witness said Roman began firing from the passenger side, and the group then went to Santa Fe Oaks Apartments at 8203 NW 31st Avenue, where Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies later located the sedan.
A Gainesville police officer reported that Copeland drove throughout the incident, including while Roman leaned out of the sedan and fired multiple rounds. The officer wrote that Copeland “provided transportation and facilitated [Roman’s] departure from the scene immediately following the shooting.”
Roman has been charged as an adult with attempted homicide. Copeland faces an adult charge of accessory after the fact to second-degree homicide.
After receiving Miranda warnings, Roman reportedly told investigators that Copeland handed him a black Glock while speeding away from the apartment complex and instructed him to shoot. Roman said he aimed at the victims and fired several rounds before the group drove to Santa Fe Oaks Apartments. He reportedly said Copeland asked for the pistol back there and claimed he fired only because Copeland told him to do so.
Copeland’s arrest report does not reference any post-Miranda statement from him.
Copeland was initially arrested as a juvenile on Aug. 9 and transferred to the adult jail on Sept. 16. A court document describes his juvenile record between 2023 and 2026 as “extensive.” Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $250,000, while Copeland’s attorney has filed a motion seeking a reduction.