3 convicted in killing of dad at N.J. youth football practice

Three men have been convicted in the 2018 killing of a father at a youth football practice in South Jersey.
Eugene Cosby, 48, of Malaga, Will El-Bey, 28, of Vineland, and Clifton Bailey, 33, of Camden, were all found guilty by a jury on charges of murder and other offenses related to the fatal shooting, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office said.
The shooting happened around 8 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2018, at Lakeside Middle School in Millville. The victim, 37-year-old Joseph Jones, was shot by a masked gunman 10 times in the school’s parking lot as the practice was ending, officials said.
When announcing the jury‘s decision on Thursday, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office did not specify which person was the masked gunman.
Parents and children witnessed the shooting as they were walking back to their cars from the field, prosecutors said.
After the shooting, Cosby and Bailey abandoned the vehicles that were used in the crime, authorities said. Cosby and El-Bey also conspired with others to provide false information to investigators, prosecutors said.
It took about three months for investigators to identify and arrest the three men.
Evidence uncovered during the investigation included phone and text message conversations about plotting the murder and a Glock 9mm handgun found during a search of El-Bey’s home that was believed to have been used in the shooting.
They will all be sentenced on Jan. 10.
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Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at [email protected].