Four plead guilty after teen athlete killed

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — Four men pleaded guilty Thursday to charges related to the fatal shooting of a 13-yearold girl who was riding home from basketball practice when she was struck by a stray bullet in 2016.

David Hardy, 25, pleaded guilty on Thursday to one charge related to Shamoya McKenzie’s death in Mount Vernon and another charge related to a different shooting in 2012, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in a statement.

Prosecutors said sentencing guidelines for Hardy call for 40 years to life in prison, though a judge will ultimately determine the length of his sentence.

The defendants were accused of opening fire multiple times on a street in Mount Vernon, striking McKenzie in the head as she sat in the passenger seat of a passing car. Prosecutors said Marquis Collier, 28, and Jermaine Hughley, 27, each pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of discharging a firearm in connection with McKenzie’s murder.

Sincere Savoy, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of using a firearm in connection with the murder.

Prosecutors said the men were part of a gang and were aiming at a rival who was struck but not killed by one of the bullets.

McKenzie was a promising basketball player who was returning from practice when she was struck by a bullet while riding in her mother’s car. The UConn women’s basketball team made McKenzie an honorary member after her death. She had been a fan of the team, her mother said.

Attorneys for Hardy did not immediately return emails and phone calls. Contact information for the attorneys of the three other men who plead guilty in this case could not be immediately found.