Hykiem Coney
Hykiem Coney (May 16,1982 – October 29, 2006)[1] was an anti-gang activist with Help End Violence Now Coalition (HEVN), located in Nassau County, New York.
Coney was the founder of the "Outlaws", a Hempstead gang affiliated with The Bloods. He was sent to prison for gang-related activity, and upon his release was prepared to avenge the murder of his friend. He found God, however, and renounced the gangster lifestyle.
Coney was shot fatally on October 21, 2006 by Tyrel Cason outside of Image Bar and Lounge, located on Hempstead Turnpike. He was placed on life support and was declared brain dead. Life support was removed five days later and he died four days after that.[1]
Bishop J. Raymond Mackey of the Tabernacle of Joy Church was described by Coney to be a father figure. Coney credited Mackey with turning his life around and helping him get a job with HEVN. Coney had also become a minister-in-training.
Tyrel Cason was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and on weapons charges on March 26, 2007. The jury did not convict Cason of second-degree murder. The defense had claimed that Cason had not aimed at Coney, and had not intended to hit anyone.[2]
Notes
Coney, a former gang leader turned anti-gang activist, was shot in the head and back outside a Uniondale bar on Oct. 21, 2006, and died later. A former leader of the Outlaws gang in Hempstead, Coney had begun to speak out against violence in 2004 with the Hempstead-based Help End Violence Now Coalition. Tyrel Cason, of Roosevelt, was convicted of manslaughter and an illegal weapons charge in 2007 and was sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison.