Brooklyn Man Convicted in Slaying of Cuomo Aide in 2015

NEW YORK — A man who claimed he acted in self-defense when he opened fire during a gunbattle that left a Cuomo administration lawyer dead in 2015 was convicted of manslaughter Thursday in state Supreme Court in Brooklyn.

The verdict was one of two expected in the fatal shooting of the lawyer, Carey W. Gabay, on Sept. 7, 2015, during the annual predawn street festival of J’ouvert.

District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s office had sought a murder conviction against the man, Kenny Bazile, 33, of Canarsie, who was charged with four others in the killing of Gabay, 43. But Bazile maintained at trial that he began firing after others started shooting at him.

Gabay was shot in the head as he sought cover from the crossfire in a parking lot of the Ebbets Field Apartments in Crown Heights. He died several days later.

Prosecutors said the shootout was part of a yearslong war between the Folk Nation gang and the 8-Trey faction of the Crips.

As the foreperson read the verdict in Justice Vincent Del Giudice’s courtroom, the two men’s families remained quiet and showed no emotion. Bazile, who faces up to 25 years in prison on the manslaughter charge, was also convicted of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

The shooting was one of several crimes during that night’s festival that left two people dead and prompted renewed calls to change or cancel the Caribbean cultural event, which had been marred by deadly violence for years. The police said the event, which was moved to the daytime last year, attracted gangs who sought revenge against their rivals under the cover of night and thick crowds.

Bazile, who prosecutors said is a member of Folk Nation, was arrested in Southern California a year after the shooting. He served three years in state prison for possession of a weapon before being discharged from parole in early 2015.

A second jury is still deliberating charges against three of his co-defendants: Micah Alleyne, 26, Stanley Elianor, 27, who prosecutors said are members of Folk Nation, and Keith Luncheon, 26, who was said to be an 8-Trey Crips member. A fifth man, Tyshawn Crawford, 23, an affiliate of Folk Nation, testified against the others at trial in exchange for a 14-year sentence.

As jurors began deliberating Bazile’s case last week, Cuomo issued a statement thanking the prosecutors, detectives and investigators who built the government’s case.

“Your tireless efforts have not only honored Carey’s memory and commitment to public service but have played a vital role in helping fight the scourge of gun violence and tragedy in our communities,” he said. “These cases are difficult, both to investigate and to try. But the work you have done has sent a powerful and important message about the rule of law in the face of senseless gang violence.”

In a trial that lasted nearly three months, the prosecutors, Emily Dean and Olatokunbo Olaniyan, sought to convince the jury that the defendants had acted recklessly and without regard for human life. They showed video of revelers scrambling for safety as the gunfire rang out, as well as footage of Bazile and Luncheon carrying firearms.

At least 23 rounds were fired from seven guns during the fight, and a machine gun that had not been fired was recovered from the scene with Elianor’s DNA on it, prosecutors said. Crawford’s testimony was crucial to placing the defendants at the scene.

The shooting was one of a handful of violent incidents that night that left Gabay and another man, Denentro Josiah, 24, dead. Despite changes the following year that included more police officers and lights, two more people — Tyreke Borel, 17, and Tiarah Poyau, 22 — were shot and killed during the celebration.

The festival saw a steep drop in attendance last year after officials moved the start time of the official procession to 6 a.m. from 4 a.m. and adopted security measures similar to those used on New Year’s Eve. There were no killings connected to the event, although participants said the measures had sapped the energy out of the celebration. Organizers and city officials have not yet announced plans for this year’s event, which signals the start of carnival and precedes the West Indian American Day Parade.

Before he was shot, Gabay had been walking with his brother, Aaron McNaughton, who testified that they were moving away from a spot where someone had been stabbed around 3 a.m. The gunfire broke out as their group passed in front of 1680 Bedford Ave., an Ebbets Field Apartments building where the Folk Nation had long controlled the patio, according to prosecutors.

His death drew widespread attention that was fueled by his compelling personal narrative. Cuomo gave his eulogy and vowed to take on a greater role in national efforts to advance gun control.

The son of Jamaican immigrants, Gabay grew up in the Boston Secor housing projects in the Bronx. He enrolled at Harvard University, where he was the first black president of its undergraduate council, then Harvard Law School. After a short career as a corporate lawyer, he turned to public service and rose to become the first deputy counsel at the Empire State Development Corp., one of the state’s economic development corporations.

Cuomo said last week that Gabay was “the embodiment of the American dream.”

A stretch of Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn was named for him in 2016. His widow, Trenelle, who attended the trial with his siblings, opened a foundation named after him.