Jermiah Copeland, seen here in 2023.
Coupeville High School graduate Jermiah Copeland pled guilty to unpremeditated murder charges Monday in Virginia and was sentenced to 44 years in prison, with one year suspended for time served.
In his plea agreement, the former Navy sailor, now 21, was guilty of five of seven charges in the 2025 death of Petty Officer Angelina Resendiz.
This includes “aggravated assault strangulation, indecent recording, obstruction of justice, and false official statement,” while a premeditated murder charge was reduced to an unpremeditated murder charge.
Copeland, who receives a dishonorable discharge and reduction of rank to Seaman Apprentice, is slated to serve his sentence at Leavenworth Federal Prison in Kansas.
He and Resendiz both served on the USS James E. Williams.
In the plea agreement, Copeland admitted to strangling the fellow sailor to death in his barracks during a night of drinking, then lying to NCIS investigators when interviewed about her disappearance.
In court, prosecutor Lauren Mayo stated that Copeland concealed Resendiz’s body in a suitcase before abandoning it in a wooden area, where it was discovered a week later.
She described his actions as “manipulative and deceitful,” not “impulsive behavior,” but “calculated.”
Copeland attended his senior year of high school in Coupeville after transferring from Oak Harbor. He was a member of the Wolves varsity basketball team during the 2022-2023 season.
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