A Lancaster County jury convicted a city man of shooting a man to death following a four-day trial this week.

The jury found Ta’jhon Zephaniah Veal, 22, guilty on Thursday of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit criminal homicide and firearms not to be carried without a license.

Veal shot and killed 19-year-old Elliot Corbin to death outside his home in the 400 block of South Prince Street in Lancaster city the evening of Jan. 6, 2024. 

First Deputy Assistant District Attorney Cody Wade, who prosecuted the case alongside Assistant District Attorney Samantha Tropp, told the jury Corbin’s then-girlfriend Joy Cleveland “lured” him out of his apartment where Veal was waiting to ambush him, unloading nine shots from a semiautomatic handgun, including one that struck Corbin in the head.

“This wasn’t a firefight,” Wade told the jury during his opening argument. “This was an execution.”

An attorney representing Veal argued that the Commonwealth’s case relied on “theories, assumptions and guesswork,” but during his closing argument Wade held up a map displaying the numerous Lancaster Safety Coalition and private surveillance cameras that captured Veal’s movements from his home in the 300 block of North Queen Street to Corbin’s apartment and the subsequent shooting.

“Every single camera was an eyewitness,” Wade said. “We saw it all.”

Wade also demonstrated Veal’s extensive planning of the murder through text messages and other communications. Cleveland, who is Veal’s cousin, had orchestrated the killing after she and Corbin had been involved in a physical fight, crafting a strategy and then repeatedly attempting to lure him onto his residence’s balcony where Veal was prepared to kill him.

Veal had a motive to kill, Wade said, “because Elliot Corbin put his hands on Joy Cleveland,” and went as far as to coordinate with his girlfriend, Jalani Dee Morales, to create an alibi for himself. Morales testified during the trial that she used Veal’s cellphone to place a 33-minute phone call to herself at the time of the shooting.

Throughout the trial the Commonwealth played video footage of the shooting, displayed maps and still images and read text messages demonstrating that Veal planned and carried out the murder. 

The jury returned a guilty verdict after about six hours of deliberation.

“We are glad to have successfully held Ta’jhon Veal accountable for his actions," said District Attorney Heather Adams. "I would like to again offer my condolences to Elliot Corbin’s family and thank the team that prosecuted this case and law enforcement for the incredible work they put in to achieve justice.”

Judge Merrill Spahn, who presided over the trial, is scheduled to sentence Veal at a later date. 

Cleveland pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and conspiracy to commit criminal homicide in March and was sentenced to nine to 30 years in state prison. Morales pleaded guilty last May to three counts of hindering apprehension or prosecution, one count of tampering with evidence and one count of criminal use of a communication facility and is awaiting sentencing in July. 

Lancaster City Bureau of Police Det. Jared Snader filed the charges.