Raa'jiem Coleman and Marcel Perry convicted in Shanita Thomas death

“No verdict, no sentence, and no amount of justice could bring her back.” Those words, shared by a friend of Shanita Thomas on Facebook, anchor the reality of a jury’s decision on Tuesday. In Albany County Court, a jury convicted Raa’jiem Coleman of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for the 2021 shooting death of Thomas, the Times Union reported.

This wasn’t a targeted hit on Thomas. She was a 35-year-old mother and aspiring nurse who spent her final moments helping a friend celebrate the grand opening of a boutique on Central Avenue. She was caught in the crossfire of a gang dispute—a random, violent eruption that claimed her life and the life of her unborn third child, while wounding another woman in the chest and elbow.

Coleman and Perry convicted in gang crossfire

The trial, which lasted nearly two weeks, painted a picture of a party turned into a war zone. According to Peter Willis, a Schenectady County Assistant District Attorney acting as a special prosecutor, the violence ignited shortly after Raa’jiem Coleman arrived at the scene. The shooting was the result of a dispute pitting Coleman and another man, Vramir Branch, against Marcel Perry and Terrence Anthony.

The jury found that Coleman fired the shot that killed Thomas. While the bullet was intended for someone else, the result was a permanent void for Thomas’s two children, Elijah Jr. and Damoni. Marcel Perry was also convicted Tuesday, though on a lesser charge of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

The legal path to this verdict was fraught with complications that extended beyond the shooting itself. The case was shifted to a special prosecutor because the Albany County District Attorney, Lee Kindlon, had previously served as a defense attorney for one of the defendants, Terrence Anthony. The proceedings were shadowed by a separate criminal case involving Jasper L. Mills III, a former attorney for Vramir Branch, who was indicted on felony charges for allegedly leaking the name of a confidential witness.

The timeline of accountability

While Coleman and Perry faced the jury, other men involved in the incident opted for plea deals to resolve their charges. Vramir Branch and Terrence Anthony both pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon on the first day of the trial, October 14.

The disparity in their eventual sentences reflects the different levels of culpability and prior legal histories:

Vramir Branch: Agreed to a plea deal to serve 10 years in prison.
Terrence Anthony: Will serve 12 years, though this will run concurrently with a 20-year-to-life sentence for a separate attempted robbery conviction.

Daniel Smalls, the attorney for Anthony, noted that his client is “glad to close this chapter,” expressing hope that the family of Shanita Thomas can find some semblance of closure.

The human cost of random violence

The legal process is moving toward its final stages. Anthony and Branch are scheduled for sentencing on December 18. Coleman and Perry, the two men convicted this week, will be sentenced on January 15.

Raa'jiem Coleman and Marcel Perry convicted in Shanita Thomas death

For the family and friends of Shanita Thomas, however, the dates on a court calendar offer little comfort. As her friend wrote, the laughter and memories they should still be making together are gone, leaving a gap that no prison sentence can ever truly fill.