In the early morning hours of a Sunday in May 2018, the body of 19-year-old Lawrence Burns of Brooklyn was found on the grounds of the Monticello Meadows apartment complex in Monticello, New York. Responding officers arrived around 3:37 a.m. and Burns was pronounced dead; an autopsy later showed he died from gunshot wounds to the head and the case was classified as a homicide.

Investigators determined Burns had been killed inside one of the apartments in the complex, near where his body was found. Multiple agencies worked the case: the Village of Monticello Police Department, New York State Police, the Town of Fallsburg Police Department, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office. A 19-year-old man, Howard A. Sanders of Loch Sheldrake, was arrested the next day and charged with murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and tampering with evidence; he was remanded without bail.

A search warrant at an apartment in the complex recovered physical evidence tied to the homicide and also resulted in the seizure of crack cocaine and Suboxone. A 22-year-old man, Gerrod D. Lucas, was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and held on $25,000 bond.

If anyone was in or near Monticello Meadows that night or has information about Lawrence Burns, please come forward.