Two Lockport teenagers were arraigned Tuesday on an indictment accusing them of murder and assault in a gun attack on a Lockport Halloween party Oct. 17.
The defendants, ages 16 and 17, pleaded not guilty to all charges. They are accused of firing eight rounds from a handgun through a metal door on the side of a garage at 43 S. Niagara St.
Cheyenne Farewell, 20, of Medina, was killed and five others, ranging in age from 15 to 21, were wounded.
The teenage defendants were arrested by Lockport police Oct. 20.
The indictment accused both defendants of two counts of second-degree murder; four counts of first-degree assault; five counts of second-degree assault; and one count of first-degree reckless endangerment.
The 17-year-old also was charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, while the 16-year-old faces one count of the weapons charge.
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Doreen M. Hoffmann, Niagara County first assistant district attorney, said the extra gun count results from the 17-year-old allegedly having a gun in the car at the time of his Oct. 20 arrest after a traffic stop in Newfane.
Hoffmann said the indictment includes two theories of murder: intentional killing and killing with "depraved indifference to human life."
Eight bullet holes were found on a garage door at 43 S. Niagara St., Lockport, where Cheyenne Farewell, 20, of Medina, was shot to death during a Halloween party on Oct. 17, 2020.
Of the five people wounded, two were injured severely enough to support a first-degree assault charge, Hoffmann said. The multiple assault charges resulted from theories of whether the shootings were intentional or reckless, she explained.
At the Oct. 26 preliminary hearing, Niagara County Youth Court Judge Diane L. Vitello made reporters' admission to the courtroom contingent on not publishing the defendants' names. Tuesday's arraignment took place online.
On Jan. 6, police arrested Jonathan Frey, 21, of Lockport, and charged him with hindering prosecution for allegedly driving the shooters to and from the crime scene.
Frey, a Level 3 sex offender and state parolee, is being held in Niagara County Jail on $10 bail on the hindering prosecution charge, but he also faces a parole detainer on which bail is not allowed.
The 16-year-old is represented by Rodney Giove of the Niagara County Conflict Defender's Office. The 17-year-old has a team from the Public Defender's Office: Mark D. Grossman, Theodore W. Janese III and Jenelle Faso.
Grossman contended at an Oct. 26 preliminary hearing that his client's confession to police was improperly obtained. That matter has not yet been litigated.
Vitello set a Feb. 16 court date to discuss evidence sharing. No trial date has been set.
Grossman said he may seek to have Frey prosecuted separately from the teenagers. It's also possible that the teens' case could be moved to Family Court if the defense requests, but Hoffmann said that decision would be up to Vitello.
Frey, who was assigned John D. Ceretto II as a court-appointed attorney, hired Nicholas J. Narchus of Lockport to defend him Tuesday, so Ceretto was relieved from the case.
The alleged shooters are being held in lieu of $500,000 bail in a Buffalo youth detention facility.
The 17-year-old also faces escape charges in Buffalo after he allegedly got away briefly from a Niagara County sheriff's deputy taking him to a medical appointment Dec. 11.
