Chrishawn Jamaal Escoffery, 24, was arrested last week on a warrant issued in January. Police say Escoffery is among the men responsible for the murder of 27-year-old Valencia Lee Ashley, who was found shot to death in an illegal dumping site on Sept. 2, 2020.
Escoffery, however, was no stranger to investigators. In fact, he was referenced in his previously arrested co-defendants’ paperwork.
As for why Escoffery’s arrest came years after the murder, that remains unclear.
Woman wearing Wingstop uniform found in bushes
Back in 2020, Miami Gardens investigators responded to Northwest 29th Avenue and 215th Street after a construction worker called 911 reporting that he noticed a woman’s body near a roadway in bushes.
The woman, who was wearing a Wingstop uniform, had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, according to an arrest warrant. Police located three .40 caliber spent shell casings near the woman, whom they quickly identified as Ashley.
When detectives visited the Wingstop location where Ashley worked, her manager said he last saw her when she finished her shift during the early morning hours of Aug. 31, 2020, the warrant states. He also advised that Ashley was usually picked up by her boyfriend in a silver SUV.
At the time of her death, Ashley was living at the Miami Heights Trailer Park with her boyfriend Eugene Tadlange Allen. When questioned, Allen said he hadn’t seen or heard from Ashley for several days, police say.
But Allen, now 31, had information about the murder: Someone had told him that a man named Patrick — and his cousin — were responsible for Ashley’s slaying.
According to the warrant, Allen took police to where “Patrick” lived. Investigators then identified “Patrick” as now 31-year-old Patrick Ulysse and his cousin as Escoffery.
Allen and Ulysse were arrested in December 2020.
Glock 40 found under the driver’s seat
Surveillance video from the trailer park captured a silver 4-door Chevy Impala entering the parking lot on Aug. 31, 2020. That’s when two men hopped out of the car, which was later linked back to Ulysse.
At about 12:10 a.m., Ashley was seen walking home while wearing a Wingstop uniform, the warrant states. Phone records confirmed that she was on the phone with Allen.
When she reached the trailer, the footage caught Escoffery and Ulysse — with a gun in his hand — walking toward the mobile home. Ashley paced out of the home minutes later, followed by the two men.
They began to rummage through her purse, police say. Ashley appeared to get away — at one point, trying to crossing the street — when Escoffery flagged down the Impala.
The car, according to investigators, followed Ashley and the men out of the camera’s view. At around 4 a.m., the three were again caught on tape in the trailer.
Within an hour, they were gone. That was the last time Ashley was seen alive.
When questioned, Allen allowed police to search the mobile home and his silver SUV. They discovered a Glock matching the casings on the scene under the driver’s seat, the warrant states.
’You had the toy on you’
In a text message exchange after the murder, Allen and Ulysse referenced the gun being seized by law enforcement, according to the warrant. Allen even sent Ulysse a photo of the property receipt for the weapon.
“Tryna to see what up with cuz toy and that bread,” Ulysse wrote in a text. “Yeen letting me known nun. You had the toy on you.”
“What bread And that toy nine got it,” Allen replied.
In the warrant, police conclude that the evidence — including surveillance video from several locations — confirmed Escoffery’s, Ulysse’s and Allen’s involvement in Ashley’s murder.
But in December 2021, court records indicate that prosecutors dropped the murder charge against Allen. He instead pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and was sentenced to three years in prison followed by probation.
It’s unknown whether Allen’s plea was part of a deal with prosecutors. Florida prison records show he’s being held at the South Florida Reception Center with an expected release date in November 2025.
Ulysse, whose case is still pending, is being held at the Pre-Trial Detention Center without bond. Escoffery is jailed at Metro West Detention Center, also without bail.