Essex County duo convicted in Newark vigilante-style shooting of 17-year-old
Prosecutors say that on August 17, 2023, Bynum and Headen opened fire on a stolen white 2022 Lexus SUV involved in a robbery spree, a crash and a shootout in Newark
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A man and woman from Newark have been found guilty in a vigilante-style shooting that killed a 17-year-old and injured another man.
Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II announced that a jury convicted 51-year-old Felicia Bynum and 33-year-old James Headen of first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and second-degree weapons charges.
Prosecutors say that on August 17, 2023, Bynum and Headen opened fire on a stolen white 2022 Lexus SUV involved in a robbery spree, a crash and a shootout in Newark. Seventeen-year-old Kiman Mays, of Newark, was killed. The driver, 29-year-old Lonnell Carruthers of Irvington, was injured.
Surveillance footage showed the defendants pursued the SUV through Newark’s South Ward after witnessing the occupants commit multiple robberies.
Carruthers and a third occupant, 21-year-old Yusuf Julious of Bound Brook, face multiple charges including first-degree robbery, second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery, third-degree receiving stolen property and weapons offenses.
Bynum and Headen are scheduled for sentencing in September and face 30 years to life in prison.
