TBI Top Ten Fugitive Captured, Charged in Lauderdale County Homicide

MEMPHIS – A fugitive who was added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Top Ten Most Wanted list in August is now in custody and facing additional charges in connection to a Lauderdale County homicide that occurred earlier this year.

On June 15^th, at the request of 25^th District Attorney General Mark Davidson, TBI Special Agents joined the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office in investigating the shooting death of Jessica Hunt (DOB 3/29/91) and her unborn child. The victim’s body was located along Berry Morrow Road in Henning. During the course of the investigation, authorities developed information leading to Sequna Copeland (DOB 3/26/89) as one of the individuals responsible for the crime.

On Monday, the Lauderdale County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Copeland with two counts of Premeditated First Degree Murder, two counts of Felony First Degree Murder, one count of Especially Aggravated Kidnapping, one count of Tampering with Evidence, one count of Felony Possession of a Firearm, one count of Employing a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, one count of Abuse of a Corpse, one count of Theft of Property, and one count of Leaving the Scene of an Accident.

On Friday evening, with the assistance of the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), Copeland was located and arrested in Ripley. He was transported to the Lauderdale County Jail where he is being held on a $1-million bond.

Copeland was also wanted by the ATF, THP, and the U.S. Marshals Service to face a variety of other charges, including federal violation of conditions of supervised release, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, unlawful possession of a firearm, theft of property, leaving the scene of an accident, and failure to give immediate notice of an accident.

In addition to the agencies referenced above, a number of other agencies assisted in the fugitive investigation and arrest of Copeland, including the Ripley Police Department, the Halls Police Department, the Gates Police Department, the Brownsville Police Department, and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.