QUEENS, N.Y. — Jeffrey Thurston, currently serving an 18-year sentence for attempted murder, has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of second-degree murder following the death of Malachi Capers, a former college athlete shot by Thurston in July 2020.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the indictment, highlighting the tragic escalation of a minor altercation into fatal violence. Capers, a student at SUNY Buffalo on a football scholarship, succumbed to complications from the gunshot wound in January 2024, nearly four years after the incident.
The original altercation occurred on July 27, 2020, when Capers accidentally bumped into Thurston inside a deli on Springfield Boulevard in Laurelton. Thurston engaged in a verbal dispute, punched Capers, and then fled the scene. Capers followed Thurston outside, where a physical struggle ensued. Thurston then drew a firearm and shot Capers in the abdomen at close range. Capers was hospitalized in critical condition, undergoing multiple surgeries over the following years.
Thurston was apprehended two days after the shooting by the NYPD’s Regional Fugitive Task Force. In June 2022, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the attempted murder of Capers, as well as for a March 2020 burglary and another shooting incident in July 2020.
Capers’ death earlier this year prompted the new murder charge. Thurston, 31, of Laurelton, was arraigned today before Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence. Thurston is scheduled to return to court on August 23.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Gregory Lasak, with assistance from Assistant District Attorney Veronika Podoprigora, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys John Kosinski and Karen Ross, and Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.
District Attorney Katz stated, “A young college student who entered SUNY Buffalo on a football scholarship suffered through years of medical complications, eventually succumbing to his injuries, because of the defendant’s complete disregard for human life. An incidental shoulder bump should never have escalated to gun violence. My thoughts continue to be with the victim’s family as we renew our fight to obtain justice for Malachi and his loved ones.”
