Fourth suspect in murder of Jamaican-born attorney pleads not guilty
NEW YORK, United States (CMC) — A reputed member of the Folk Nation gang has pleaded not guilty to killing the Jamaican-born legal aide to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo during what police said was a wild shootout at a Caribbean J’ouvert celebration in Brooklyn, last year.
Kenny Bazile is the fourth suspect charged in the tragic killing of Carey Gabay, a Harvard-educated lawyer, who worked at the Empire State Development Corporation.
According to Assistant Brooklyn District Attorney Emily Dean, Bazile was nabbed earlier this month in California where he had fled by train the day after the shooting.
Gabay died when he was hit by a stray bullet.
The prosecutor said Bazile was caught on a video surveillance tape holding a gun, and four spent shells recovered at the crime scene where he was standing matches a gun that was recovered.
The shooting erupted when members of the 8 Trey gang were spotted in Folk Nation territory near the Ebbets Field housing development, and Gabay was caught in the crossfire.
Gabay was with his brother in Brooklyn, on September 7 last year, enjoying the pre-dawn festivities on Eastern Parkway, the popular thoroughfare where the West Indian America n Day Carnival Parade is held when he was caught in a gang shootout and shot in the head.
Bazille, along with rival gang members, Micah Alleyne, 24, Tyshawn Crawford, 21 and Keith Luncheon, 24, each face 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the second-degree murder charges.
Last week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ruled out cancelling J’ouvert activities in the Caribbean community in Brooklyn because of shootings, saying that it is an event that’s “important to the community.”