A man from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, has been found guilty of shooting and murdering another man in 2017 after a trial that lasted four days.
Wilberto Melendez has been found guilty by a jury of first-degree criminal homicide, firearms not to be carried without a license, possession of a prohibited firearm, and intimidation of a witness, as stated by the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office.
In October 2017, Melendez, who was 48 years old at the time, fatally shot 31-year-old William Earl Cooper Jr. The incident occurred after an argument, and Cooper passed away a few hours later at a nearby hospital.
Melendez faced trial for the shooting in 2019 and 2021, but both trials ended in mistrials. Since 2022, he has been held in state prison, awaiting his next trial.
“We are glad to have successfully held Wilberto Melendez accountable for his actions in this case,” said District Attorney Heather Adams. “I would like to again offer my condolences to the family of Will Cooper and thank the team that prosecuted this case and law enforcement for the incredible work they put in to achieve justice.”
During his closing argument, First Assistant District Attorney Travis S. Anderson, who worked on the case alongside First Deputy Assistant District Attorney Cody Wade, appealed to the jury to dismiss Melendez’s “clearly absurd” account of the events. He also discouraged the defense’s attempts to undermine the credibility of eyewitnesses who were recalling an incident from over seven years ago.
Anderson, instead, urged the jury to trust the accounts of numerous eyewitnesses who testified to seeing Melendez present at the crime scene, holding a firearm.
“I ask you to bring this man to justice,” Anderson told the jury. “Hold him responsible for what he did. Find him guilty as charged.”
According to reports, Melendez, Cooper, and several others engaged in arguments at various locations in Lancaster City during the early morning hours of October 27, 2017.
Melendez, Cooper, and another individual ultimately met in the 300 block of South Marshall Street to figure out what occurred, but Melendez shot Cooper four times, hitting him in the chest and abdomen.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing Melendez open fire on Cooper. The witnesses testified that Melendez then returned to his vehicle and drove away.
The testimony was supported by CCTV from the Lancaster Safety Coalition, which did not capture the shooting but clearly showed Melendez entering the vehicle immediately afterward.
Melendez contacted one of the witnesses several times following the shooting, attempting to bribe them with jewelry and hiring an attorney for them, as well as threatening them that he “wouldn’t mind doing it again” if they went against his wishes.
Despite the threats, the witness took the stand against him, claiming that he was the shooter.
The jury also heard about Melendez’s attempts to travel to Canada and provide bogus identification papers at a passport office in Philadelphia. He was arrested in 2018 and found to be in possession of a false driver’s license.
Following almost two hours of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty judgment. Melendez is due to be sentenced by Judge Merrill Spahn in April. First-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence.
