Jacob McMillan gets 20 years to life after Amira McCleod was fatally shot in the head
MINEOLA, NY – A 19-year-old college athlete attending a Hempstead house party with friends was killed by a stray bullet after a teenager refused to be searched at the door, pulled a gun and opened fire into the crowded gathering — a shooting that has now sent him to prison for 20 years to life.
Jacob McMillan, 18, of Baldwin, was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years to life in prison for the November 2025 killing of Monroe University student Amira McCleod, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly.
McMillan pleaded guilty June 4 before Judge Helene Gugerty to second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
The shooting unfolded at approximately 10:50 p.m. Nov. 22 at a house party on Willow Avenue in Hempstead.
Prosecutors said McMillan approached the home and someone throwing the party attempted to pat him down before allowing him inside.
McMillan refused to be searched and pulled away.
He then drew a gun and fired two shots at the person who had attempted to search him, prosecutors said.
That victim was struck in the arm while diving behind a vehicle to escape the gunfire.
McMillan began running south on Kennedy Avenue before turning and firing another shot.
That bullet traveled through the shoulder of a second victim before striking McCleod in the head, according to prosecutors.
McCleod, of St. Albans, Queens, was attending the party with friends.
She died at the scene.
The other two people struck by gunfire were transported to local hospitals and treated for their injuries.
Prosecutors said McMillan fled and hid in a backyard approximately one block south of the party.
At about 11 p.m., he was picked up by a blue Ford Edge operating through a ride-sharing service.
The vehicle dropped him off at an address on Coolidge Avenue in Baldwin. Prosecutors said the property borders McMillan’s home on Wales Avenue.
Investigators pieced together McMillan’s movements using extensive surveillance footage.
Video showed him wearing the same dark blue and black North Face winter jacket, light-colored jeans and black sneakers seen at the party, according to the district attorney’s office.
Investigators also obtained footage showing McMillan getting off a Long Island Rail Road train at Baldwin station earlier that evening, boarding a Nassau Inter-County Express bus and exiting near the Willow Avenue home shortly before the shooting.
A doorbell camera across the street from the party also captured footage of McMillan, prosecutors said.
Nassau County Police Bureau of Special Operations and Homicide Squad officers arrested McMillan in Baldwin on Dec. 2.
His 20-years-to-life sentence followed approximately eight months later.
Key Points
- Jacob McMillan, 18, was sentenced to 20 years to life for the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Monroe University student Amira McCleod at a Hempstead house party.
- Prosecutors said McMillan opened fire after refusing to be searched before entering the party, wounding two people before a bullet struck McCleod in the head.
- Investigators used surveillance, transit and doorbell-camera footage to trace McMillan’s movements before and after the shooting.
