MURFREESBORO, TN — Late last month, the Tennessee Supreme Court denied an appeal in a Rutherford County carjacking case involving Jeremiah Devon Cohill, bringing the running legal battle to a close and finalizing his 24-year prison sentence for a violent crime that occurred in Murfreesboro in 2020.

Court records show that on July 30, 2020, Cohill and co-defendant Ja’Veon Brown posed as potential car buyers through Facebook Marketplace to lure a young woman and her father into meeting to sell a vehicle. Originally, the sellers planned to meet the buyers in the parking lot of a Dollar General store, but one of the suspects sent a last-minute text changing the meeting location to a vacant home on Gold Valley Drive in Murfreesboro. What appeared to be a routine vehicle sale turned into a robbery when Brown reportedly pulled a gun from a backpack and pointed it at the father, who was present to complete the transaction. After demanding the car keys at gunpoint, the pair fled the scene in the victim’s vehicle.

Minutes later, the stolen car was located at The Grove Apartments. Both suspects attempted to flee on foot. Brown was captured first with the vehicle key in his pocket, while Cohill was later found shirtless and injured, hiding near homes along Halls Hill Pike.

Brown later entered a guilty plea before Cohill’s trial but gave conflicting statements regarding Cohill’s role in the crime. Although Brown attempted to recant portions of his sworn affidavit during testimony, jurors ultimately convicted Cohill for his participation in the carjacking.

In May of this year, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals reversed, vacated, and dismissed one count against Cohill for employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. The appellate court ruled the firearm charge was legally void because the underlying carjacking conviction already required proof of firearm use as an essential element. Despite dismissing that count, the court affirmed Cohill’s remaining convictions and consecutive sentencing, leaving his effective sentence unchanged at 24 years. The court also found no clerical errors related to jail credits or sentencing.

With the Tennessee Supreme Court now denying any further review, the appellate ruling stands as final. Cohill will remain incarcerated on convictions that include carjacking, aggravated assault, and conspiracy to commit carjacking. His sentence began approximately two years ago and is projected to conclude in 2047, just 16 days after his 46th birthday.