Two men charged in the 2024 shooting death of 20-year-old Qualyn “Rocky” Terry appeared in Broome County Court on Sept. 19 for a preliminary hearing.
Joziah Worthington and Tayshon Smith appeared in court as co-defendants. The hearing was held to review surveillance footage from a Binghamton business on the day of Terry’s death.
Two police officers involved in the case took the stand to testify about the security camera footage, which will be presented as evidence during the trial, for which a date has not yet been set.
On Feb. 9, 2024, Terry was fatally shot in the area of Lewis and Henry streets in Binghamton. Investigators discovered he had been driving when he was shot, causing the car to crash. He was found lying in the street and pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers testify, video evidence played in court
Broome County Senior Assistant District Attorney Clair Pelella called Binghamton Police Department Investigator Paul Ryan to the stand at the Sept. 19 hearing and presented a portion of the first piece of evidence in court.
In his testimony, Ryan alleged the security camera footage taken from Pizza Plus on Court Street in Binghamton depicted both Worthington and Smith inside the restaurant on Feb. 9, 2024.
Ryan said during his investigation into Terry’s death, he retrieved the footage from the restaurant owner and was able to identify Worthington as one of the men in the video based on prior interactions they had while he was on duty.
He alleged that in a separate video, Worthington and Smith could be seen exiting a vehicle, which was being tracked in the investigation, and entering the establishment.
New York City Police Officer Steven Guerrero took the stand after Ryan to confirm his identification of Smith in the footage.
Guerrero, who works in Bedford Stuyvesant, said he has had interactions with Smith while he was living in the Brooklyn area. He said he had a longer encounter with Smith previously at the Brooklyn precinct while he was being booked for a separate arrest in 2023.
Guerrero testified that a Binghamton Police Department lieutenant had sent him the Pizza Plus surveillance footage on Oct. 11, 2024, in order to confirm the identity of Smith. Guerrero said he was able to identify Smith as one of the men in the video based on his previous interactions.
Worthington, 21, was charged with second-degree murder while acting alone or in concert with another person and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in connection with Terry’s death.
A grand jury voted on a sealed indictment in the case, triggering an arrest warrant for Worthington. On Dec. 19, 2024, the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force took Worthington into custody at an Endicott residence on Jackson Avenue, according to the Broome County Sheriff’s Office. Smith, 20, was also arrested in relation to Terry’s death on Jan. 7 in Chesterfield, Virginia and charged with second-degree murder.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Qualyn ‘Rocky’ Terry shooting death reviewed in preliminary hearing
Reporting by Jillian McCarthy, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin / Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
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