DA ‘strenuously objects’ to plea terms for child rapist who fled crash that killed friend, attacked jail deputy

Shayne Copes

Shayne Copes, 21

Syracuse, NY — A convicted child rapist will spend 5 to 10 years in prison after admitting that he recklessly killed his friend in a car crash, fled the scene and later attacked a jail deputy after his arrest.

Shayne Copes, 21, took a plea Monday offered by state Supreme Court Justice Gordon Cuffy, who noted that Copes never meant to kill his friend and had unspecified “issues” that the judge said needed to be addressed.

Still, Cuffy knew he was going to hear a protest from prosecutors Chris Bednarski and John Centra. So the judge cut to the chase himself: the district attorney’s office “strenuously objected” to his offer, he noted.

That’s true, Bednarski confirmed. The prosecutor also noted that the family of man killed in the crash -- Jarrett Wells -- who attended Monday’s plea -- wanted Copes to spend longer in prison, too.

Copes was already on probation for having sex with a 14-year-old girl in 2018 when he sped through two stop signs on Syracuse’s North Side in March 2020, resulting in a crash that killed his 18-year-old friend, Wells.

Copes fled on foot from the intersection of Carbon and Court streets, before being caught while seeking treatment at Upstate University Hospital.

Jailed after his arrest, he kneed a custody deputy in the head during an incident in July 2020.

Under law, Copes could have had punishment added up for each of four incidents: the reckless fatal crash, fleeing the scene, attacking the jail deputy and violation probation on the prior rape conviction. All told, that could have resulted in two decades or more in prison.

Instead, Cuffy promised to sentence Copes to 5-to-10 years for the reckless crash, with his fleeing charges, jail attack and probation violation sentences being served at the same time.

To circumvent prosecutors, Copes had to plead guilty to four separate felonies covering two indictments: that’s to reckless manslaughter, leaving the scene of a fatal crash and two counts of assault (stemming from the same kneeing of the jail deputy). Because Copes pleaded guilty to all of the charges, sentencing was left to the sole discretion of the judge.

Defense lawyer Graeme Spicer noted that Copes never meant to kill his friend and there was no evidence he was high or drunk at the time, only speeding and running stop signs.

“This is a young man who ran a couple of stop signs while driving a high rate of speed; he did not intend to cause a death in this case,” the judge noted, while acknowledging that Copes did flee the scene.

Spicer asked if the judge would release Copes from jail for two months until sentencing. Bednarski responded with another objection.

“Absolutely nothing good can come of that,” the prosecutor said. “He (kneed) a cop and killed his friend while on probation for a sexual assault.”

Cuffy wasn’t willing to go that far.

“Mr. Copes has some issues and releasing him….I’m not going to release him given the circumstances,” he said.

Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.

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