Westchester Man Indicted on Murder, Attempted Murder Charges

Elmsford resident Dontae Degree, 29, was indicted Tuesday on murder, attempted murder and related charges in connection with the Aug. 25 shooting of two men - killing one - in Yonkers, Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced.

Degree is accused of killing Kenneth Hill and seriously wounding Roylin Fairclough while the two men were sitting in a car on Morningside Avenue.

The indictment charges Degree with:

• one count of Murder in the Second Degree, a class “A” Felony,
• one count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, a class “B” Felony,
• one count of Assault in the First Degree, a class “B” Felony and
• one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony.

According to DiFiore:

On August 25th, 2015 at approximately 1:35 pm several gunshots rang out in front of 127 Morningside Avenue in Yonkers. A Yonkers Police Officer who was nearby raced to the location and discovered two men who had been shot sitting in the front seats of a Hyundai Sonata.

It is alleged that Degree crept up behind the car occupied by his victims and fired multiple shots at them.

Hill was shot in the head, neck and spinal cord. Fairclough was shot in the head, right shoulder and back. He was taken to Jacobi Medical Center where he underwent surgery.

Yonkers Police commenced an investigation. The defendant was arrested on October 19, 2015 and was remanded.

Degree, who is in Westchester County Jail, is next scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 24. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison.

Deputy District Attorney Timothy Ward and Bureau Chief Laura Murphy of the Superior Court Trial Division are prosecuting the case.

Photo: Dontae Degree. Photo credit:Westchester County District Attorney’s office