Huntington Station Teen Pleads Guilty To Fatal Shooting: Suffolk DA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — A Huntington Station teenager pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder after he fatally shot a 21-year-old in 2021, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said.

Ramon Lyons, 16, pleaded guilty to killing Luis Cameron Rimmer-Hernandez, the DA said. Lyons is expected to be sentenced to 12 years to life in prison.

"Unfortunately, the unintended effect of New York’s 2018 ‘Raise the Age’ law is an increase in shootings and violent crimes committed by young offenders, such as this defendant, who was only 14 years old when he took the victim's life," Tierney said in a news release. "Gangs are increasingly using younger members to carry weapons and commit shootings because they know that these offenders will face lesser consequences. The murder of Cam was a direct consequence of this misguided 'Raise the Age' law. My heart goes out to him and his family."

New York's "Raise the Age" legislation changed the age that a child can be prosecuted as an adult from 16 to 18 years of age in criminal cases in New York state, according to NYCourts.gov. New York was one of two remaining states to hold 16 year-olds criminally responsible before the law was enacted.

Rimmer-Hernandez drove up to an area of Lowndes Avenue in Huntington Station to meet with friends on Aug. 9, 2021, according to court documents. As Rimmer-Hernandez stood there, Lyons, then 14, ran up to him and fired approximately seven shots from a 9 mm handgun, the DA said. Rimmer-Hernandez was struck multiple times in the chest and arm, officials said. Lyons fled and ran back into his apartment less than half a mile away, prosecutors said.

Lyons was tracked through surveillance video and made admissions to the homicide on social media, the DA said.

Lyons pleaded guilty on Wednesday. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 13. He is being represented by Matt Tuohy.