Baldwin teen admits killing Monroe University basketball player at house party

A Baldwin teenager admitted in court Thursday that he shot and killed a Monroe University basketball player last November when he opened fire on a crowd at a Hempstead house party.

Jacob McMillan, 18, pleaded guilty to firing the shots about 11 p.m. on Nov. 22 that killed Amira McCleod, 19, of St. Albans, Queens, a member of the Monroe women's team, and wounded another partygoer.

Under an agreement hashed out between the Nassau County District Attorney's Office and defense attorney Brian Carmody, and accepted by Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty, McMillan will be sentenced to 20 years to life behind bars. The plea deal knocks five years off the minimum sentence he could have received.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Separately, McMillan pleaded guilty to criminal trespassing after prosecutors said he took a PlayStation from a friend’s house. He had originally been charged with burglary.

Nassau County prosecutor Brian Rodriguez said during Thursday's hearing that investigators also believe McMillan was responsible for a knife-point robbery last November at Roosevelt Field mall in which he made off with a watch, but he will not be charged.

McMillan listened throughout the hearing, appearing unfazed at the crimes that will keep him imprisoned for at least the next two decades.

“It’s true,” he told the court after the prosecutor read off his offenses.

Before the hearing, Carmody said of his client: “He wants to apologize for the heartache and the pain to the victims and their families. He also wants to apologize to his own family, to his own mother, for the heartache that he caused her. He’s truly sorry for committing these crimes, and he takes full responsibility.”

The shooting happened when bouncers at the party tried to pat McMillan down for weapons, police said. He drew back and opened fire twice on the doorman outside the Willow Avenue house, striking him once in the arm as he dove for cover behind a parked car, prosecutors said.

McMillan fled the scene, firing again as the revelers scattered, hitting one partygoer in the shoulder, police said. The bullet went through the second victim, striking McCleod.

The shooting was captured on video, prosecutors said, and investigators have cellphone records and other evidence that prove his guilt.

“Knowing he was armed, Jacob McMillan could have turned and walked away from a pat down to enter the house party that Saturday night,” District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement. “Instead, he pulled his gun and started to fire. McMillan ended two lives that night — 19-year-old Monroe University student Amira McCleod’s and his own. Amira was a gifted basketball player and beginning to find herself in her sophomore year at college when she was gunned down by McMillan’s stray bullet — the final shot he fired as he ran from the chaotic scene he created. Amira was innocent; enjoying her friendships and her youth when her life was shockingly and tragically cut short by this defendant’s violent outburst. This plea ensures justice for Amira and the countless people who loved her.”

McCleod’s death stunned the Monroe University community.

The New Rochelle-based women’s basketball team, the Express, were in the middle of their season at the time of shooting. Afterward, the team collectively decided to dedicate their next game, against Suffolk County Community College in Selden, to McCleod.

“She would want us to play. We got a purpose to play, so we want to do it," the team told coach Damel Ling at the time. 

They placed a framed portrait of McCleod on the bench for the game. Her black and gold jersey with the number 11 hung over the back of a chair. Monroe won the game by a score of 69 to 48.

After Thursday's hearing, the coach said of the pleading, which was attended by McCleod’s mother: “It’s not going to bring her back, but it’s the next step in the process.”

Ling said McCleod was “a maniac, but she was my maniac.”

He said that she played hard and brought intensity to everything she did.

“She was a little stubborn, kind of like myself,” Ling said. "We butt heads a little bit, but all in all, a great kid, great attitude, and she knew what she wanted, and stood on what she wanted."