4 Arrested in Drive-By Shooting Death of Yonkers Man

Four people have been charged in the drive-by shooting of a promising baseball prospect from Yonkers.

Acting Westchester County District Attorney James A. McCarty announced Wednesday that Nashaun Hunter, Garth O’Neil Cole, Darren Dawson and Tejmitra Singh face felony counts in the murder of Michael Nolan.

McCarty said the allegations against the suspects were frightening.

“It’s alleged that Nashaun Hunter aided and abetted by Garth O’Neil Cole, Darren Dawson and Tejmitra Singh piled into a car and drove to a fast-food restaurant at which point the car they were in slowed, so that Hunter could fire six shots and kill Michael Nolan, an innocent young man with a promising future,” he said.

Nolan was standing in a Burger King parking lot on Central Park Avenue in Yonkers Sept. 18 when he was struck in the head by a bullet.

He was taken to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx where he remained in a coma until he was declared dead Oct. 9.

An investigation by the Yonkers Police Department and Westchester County DA’s Office found that the shooting was in retaliation for the beating of an individual known to the suspects and related to a drag race two nights prior to the shooting.

Nolan was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 2014, while he was on the baseball team at Oklahoma City University.

The suspects were arrested Wednesday and were remanded to jail. They will appear in court Thursday.

The charges—all felonies—are as follows:

• Nashuan Hunter, 17, of the Bronx: one count second-degree murder and two counts second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
• Garth O’Neil Cole, 22, of Mount Vernon: one count of first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
• Darren Dawson, 18, of the Bronx: one count of first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
• Tejmitra Singh, 23, of the Bronx: one count of first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Charges of second-degree murder and first-degree assault could bring sentences of up to 25 years in state prison.

A charge of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon could bring a maximum sentence of 15 years in state prison.

Photo caption: Michael Nolan. Photo credit: Oklahoma City University.