A judge sentenced a Lancaster city man to life in prison without the possibility of parole yesterday after a jury found him guilty earlier this year of shooting a man to death.

In handing down the sentence on Wednesday, Judge Merrill Spahn told Ta’jhon Zephaniah Veal, 22, that what made the situation so tragic was that “lives are thrown away senselessly.” 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. 

“Street justice isn’t justice,” Spahn told Veal. “Mr. Corbin isn’t here because of it and you’ve thrown away your life because of it.”

A jury found Veal guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit criminal homicide and firearms not to be carried without a license following a four-day trial in June.

Though more than a dozen members of Corbin’s family were present to witness the sentencing they declined to speak. First Deputy Assistant District Attorney Cody Wade, who prosecuted the case alongside Assistant District Attorney Samantha Tropp, said there was “nothing more that they need to say or hear.” 

Veal himself declined to address the court when given the opportunity. 

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. 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.

Numerous Lancaster Safety Coalition and private surveillance cameras captured Veal’s movements from his home in the 300 block of North Queen Street to Corbin’s apartment and the subsequent shooting.

Wade noted that Veal concocted a “rather involved plan” to conceal his role in the shooting, going 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. 

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 has not yet been sentenced. 

As part of his sentence Veal must pay more than $20,500 in funeral expenses to Corbin’s family.

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