TAUNTON MASSACHUSETTS, A former Taunton man who fled the state after the November 2022 killing of Ross Copeland has pleaded guilty to multiple charges connected to the homicide.
According to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III, 39-year-old Jerome Fordham was arrested in Florida in July 2023 and later charged with murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carrying an illegal firearm, and assault and battery by means of a firearm.
On November 6, 2022, at approximately 1:38 a.m., Taunton Police received a 911 call reporting that a man was bleeding and needed an ambulance near the corner of Mason and Myrtle streets. First responders located 38-year-old Ross Copeland of Raynham suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. He was transported to Morton Hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased.
Following an extensive investigation by prosecutors assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Homicide Unit, Massachusetts State Police detectives, and Taunton Police detectives, authorities obtained an arrest warrant for Fordham in January 2023.
In July 2023, a citizen in Tampa County, Florida reportedly recognized Fordham from a wanted poster and contacted local police after seeing a man matching the description living in a trailer park. Local authorities notified the U.S. Marshals Service, and Fordham was taken into custody without incident at the trailer park on July 19.
According to court records, Fordham pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder and carrying a firearm without a license.
Sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday. The case was prosecuted by Cait Sauter and Karen O’Sullivan.
