A California man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for his involvement in a murder-for-hire scheme and a shooting in Poughkeepsie in 2020.
Justtin Kenyotta Haywood, 40, of Aurora, Calif., pleaded guilty to murder for hire and being a felon in possession of a pistol and ammunition before U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román, according to a March 6 news release.
“Justtin Haywood’s sentence shows that senseless acts of violence will be met with severe consequences," U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in the release. "Haywood agreed to murder another individual and then shot at an innocent 17-year-old boy, who had been playing basketball with friends in a park. For this crime, Haywood will spend 17 years in federal prison.”
Between late 2019 and the beginning of 2020, Haywood flew from Colorado to North Carolina, then to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where he met a co-conspirator who promised him $5,000 to murder another man, the release reported. Haywood agreed and approached three teenagers playing basketball in King Street Park in Poughkeepsie Jan. 15, 2020, mistaking for his intended target.
He made an attempt to shoot one of them, a 17-year-old boy, according to the release. He then pursued them in his car as they fled on foot and fired multiple shots from inside the vehicle.
“As this sentence demonstrates, there is no place in our community for anyone willing to commit murder," FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said in the release. "Criminal behavior like Haywood's is a dangerous bane to society and often results in innocent people being placed in harm's way. The FBI's Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force and our partners in law enforcement work tirelessly to make those who have complete disregard for humanity face the consequences of their actions.”
