Just weeks before her daughter planned to announce her pregnancy, Marcia Pochette looked forward to becoming a grandmother. But on the evening of July 30, 2024, both their lives were violently cut short — and now, nearly a year later, seven West Palm Beach police officers are facing criminal charges in the tragic vehicle pursuit that claimed them.
On June 4, those officers turned themselves in for their alleged roles in a high-speed chase that crossed city lines and ended in a fatal crash in Boynton Beach.
The pursuit, which began when 23-year-old Neoni Copeland refused to stop for police, ended when he slammed his silver Kia Stinger into a Toyota Corolla at the intersection of North Congress Avenue and Meadows Boulevard — killing 57-year-old Pochette and her 27-year-old daughter, Jenice Woods, who was two months pregnant.
Three of the officers — Austin Danielovich, Pierre Etienne, and Christopher Rekdahl — were charged with two counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving death and one count of official misconduct. Four others — Michael Borgen, William Loayza, Brandan Stedfelt, and Darien Thomas — were each charged with official misconduct.
“The police officers’ actions are a disturbing betrayal of the public trust,” said State Attorney Alexcia Cox. “Law enforcement officers have a duty to the public they swore to uphold. No one is above the law, and this office will pursue justice wherever the facts and the law lead.”
The charges stem from a police pursuit that began in West Palm Beach when Copeland refused to stop for a traffic violation. Surveillance footage and police reports show that three police vehicles — one marked and two unmarked — pursued Copeland south onto I-95 and out of their city limits, eventually exiting at Hypoluxo Road. The chase ended in Boynton Beach, miles away from where it started.
Just five seconds before the crash, Copeland was traveling at 108 mph, according to the Boynton Beach Police Department. Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators showed both Copeland and one of the pursuing officers “driving with no regard for traffic devices or human life.”
Copeland collided with Woods’ Corolla as she attempted to turn left into her neighborhood. Both she and her mother were pronounced dead at Delray Medical Center later that night.
“Two and a half lives were taken away from me. My daughter, my wife, my future grandchild,” said Junel Pochette, Jenice’s father and Marcia’s husband. “We were looking forward to a new grandbaby.”
Following the crash, Copeland fled the scene on foot. A 911 caller reported a disoriented, injured man banging on a door nearby. Officers arrived and found Copeland, who admitted to running because he was scared. He also told investigators he hadn’t seen the people in the car he struck.
He was treated at Bethesda Medical Hospital for minor injuries before being booked into the Palm Beach County Jail. He faces two counts of leaving the scene of a crash causing fatality and one count of resisting an officer without violence.
The crash immediately raised questions about the officers’ conduct. At issue: whether the officers violated pursuit protocol by continuing the high-speed chase across jurisdictional boundaries.
Internal Affairs at West Palm Beach PD launched an investigation the next day. The officers involved were placed on paid administrative leave last August, and a criminal probe was handed to the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Public Corruption Unit.
“This is a difficult time for everyone involved,” said the West Palm Beach Fraternal Order of Police. “As we grieve with the families, we also remain steadfast in supporting our members through the legal process, with a deep respect for the seriousness of this matter and the lives forever changed.”
They added: “These officers are entitled to the full protections of due process. We respectfully ask the public to allow the legal system to do its work fairly and without presumption.”
West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James also addressed the arrests: “We take even the appearance of injustice seriously and grieve with those affected by this incident. I remain committed to the safety of every resident, employee, and visitor in this city. There are no days off to ensure public safety and transparency.”
Former Police Chief Frank Adderley, who was still in office at the time of the crash, had pledged full cooperation with Boynton Beach investigators and emphasized the importance of letting the facts dictate the outcome: “While there are any questions and few answers at this time, we need to let the facts lead us to the outcome of the investigation.”
In the days following the crash, the community poured out in grief. Flowers and messages lined the crash site. Brentyn McKinney and his wife, Erika, remembered Jenice as a joyful friend.
“They just had their one-year anniversary last month,” McKinney said of Jenice and her husband. “We would go to their house and have brunch parties… we were just planning to go to SeaWorld all together.”
The tragedy has also reignited calls for traffic safety at the intersection where Woods and Pochette died.
“Accidents happen out there very frequently,” said Junel Pochette. “I wish this is something they take into consideration. I don’t want to see another life taken that way.”
