Lillian Bond, a caretaker and longtime hospital worker, was taking out the trash at her home when she was gunned down nearly a decade ago in an indiscriminate murder-for-hire plot and finally this week, her killers were sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison.
In court records reviewed Tuesday by Law&Crime, a federal judge in North Carolina sentenced gang members Jaquate Simpson, 39, Landis Jackson, 39, Kalub Shipman, 36, and Nelson Evans, 33 to life in prison for their roles in the criminal enterprise that left Bond, 59, dead in broad daylight in 2016.Related Coverage
The plan, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime, was hatched that April when Simpson was shorted roughly $81,000 for a two-kilogram cocaine deal.
A jury found in May that Simpson recruited Jackson to his side to retaliate against the man they said shorted them, Brandon Williams. Together, the duo hired Shipman, a member of the Nine Trey Gangsters Blood gang in Greensboro, North Carolina, as well as Evans, to kill someone — and in effect, anyone — they saw emerging from Williams’ home to send a message.
They were to be paid $10,000 for each person they killed at Williams’ home, documents show.
Bond, prosecutors said, was Williams’ aunt.
She was emerging from the Williams home in Virginia on April 19, 2016, when Shipman and Evans rolled past in a Lexus they had driven from North Carolina and Evans opened fire. With her dead, they drove off. That same night, court records show Shipman posted a picture of himself on his social media pages with the message “Eat food see food or buy food.” [sic]
That same night, evidence also showed Shipman searching the Facebook page of Lillian Bond’s daughter. A week later, Simpson told a fellow gang member of Brandon Williams, “his grandma had to feel it!” and “they caught the lady taking the trash out.”
Shipman asked Jackson for more bloody work less a month later and sent him a coded message: “If you give me two more eggs, I’ll scramble the situation for breakfast.”
Shipman would be arrested on unrelated drug charges around this same time but kept talking to Jackson about the hit that killed Bond and prosecutors said records showed him discussing Williams still holding a grudge.
The Justice Department said Simpson aka “Quay” was charged with continuing a criminal enterprise, murder while engaged in continuing a criminal enterprise, narcotics conspiracy, murder while engaged in a drug-trafficking conspiracy, distribution of cocaine, use of a firearm resulting in death, conspiracy to murder for hire and murder for hire.
Jackson aka “Juve” was hit with near identical charges. In contrast, Shipman aka “Kato” aka “Baydo” was charged with murder in a drug-trafficking offense, conspiracy to murder for hire, murder for hire and felon in possession of a firearm. His cohort, Evans, was charged with use of a firearm resulting in death, conspiracy to murder for hire, and murder for hire.
The life sentences were mandatory based on these crimes.
Bond, according to the Virginian Pilot , worked as a housekeeping supervisor at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughter for 20 years.
She had no idea her nephew was caught up in a life of crime.
Bond’s niece, Precious Hill, told the outlet this week after the sentencing: “The hardest thing is knowing that she did not deserve this and that they are not remorseful. I just pray for healing for our family.”Join the discussion.
