A Monroe County jury convicted 33-year-old Jalen Reed on Tuesday of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in the 2020 shooting death of Nathan Bernard on Genesee Street in southwest Rochester. Bernard, 32, was fatally shot near Dr. Samuel McCree Way as the city endured the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it took more than six years for a jury to reach a verdict in the case.
The shooting happened around 7:45 p.m. on April 29, 2020, according to rochesterfirst.com. Investigators determined that Reed approached a group of people and opened fire with a handgun, striking Bernard, who authorities said was his intended target. Bernard was rushed to Strong Memorial Hospital, where he later died.
The Monroe County District Attorney's Office reported Reed's convictions on the felony counts, which carried through a case built on physical and digital evidence gathered in the aftermath of the shooting. The investigation uncovered shell casings that matched the murder weapon, along with DNA evidence and surveillance video, the same report notes.
A Years-Long Path to Trial
Reed, who resides in Rochester, was not arrested until October 2024, more than four years after Bernard was killed, as reported by whec.com. He pleaded not guilty to the charges when he was arraigned that year, per 13WHAM. Second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon are both felonies under New York law.
Reed is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 5, 2027, before Monroe County Court Judge Michael L. Dollinger, the station's report states. The case was covered locally by the Democrat and Chronicle, whose reporter Victoria E. Freile detailed the jury's Nov. 10 verdict against Reed for fatally shooting Bernard.
A Shooting Amid a Violent Year
Bernard's death came during one of the deadliest years in recent Rochester history. Rochester Police confirmed 51 homicide victims across 46 incidents in 2020, compared with 32 homicides in 2019 and 28 in 2018, according to rochesterfirst.com. That spike made 2020 the highest homicide count the city had seen in a decade, a grim backdrop to the shooting on Genesee Street.
With Reed's conviction now secured, the case moves toward its final stage in January, when a judge will determine his sentence. The verdict closes out a prosecution that stretched across more than six years from the night Bernard was shot to the jury's decision this week.
