Jabari Akim Coffee pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Isaiah Conner following an altercation tied to prior dealings and a drug transaction.
A Longs man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to voluntary manslaughter in a 2025 shooting that later proved fatal.
Jabari Akim Coffee, 22, admitted to shooting Isaiah Conner, also of Longs, during a January 23, 2025, altercation involving prior disputes and a drug transaction, according to Senior Assistant Solicitor Seth Oskin, who prosecuted the case alongside Violent Crimes Prosecutor Jim Stanko for the Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Conner was taken directly to the hospital after the shooting and died from his injuries on March 1, 2025. Because the victim was transported immediately, investigators had no traditional crime scene to process, Oskin said. Limited physical evidence made the case difficult to reconstruct, but detectives continued pressing for answers.
Their findings ultimately led Coffee to confess.
Circuit Court Judge David P. Caraker, Jr. accepted the plea and imposed a 20‑year sentence. Voluntary manslaughter is classified as a “most serious” violent offense in South Carolina and carries a maximum penalty of 30 years. Coffee must serve at least 85 % of his sentence before becoming eligible for supervised release and could face life in prison if he commits another violent offense.
Oskin said the victim’s family supported the plea agreement and delivered an impact statement during the hearing.
“One young man is dead, and another is going to prison for the rest of his younger years,” Oskin said. “Street justice is not the answer. Here, the family of Mr. Conner feels that justice has been served, and that is ultimately what matters most.”
© 2026 BCDollarSaver.com. All rights reserved.
Be the first to comment