A paroled sex offender drove two teenagers to and from a large Halloween party where, prosecutors say, at least one of the teenagers fired shots through a door, killing a woman and wounding five others.
The driver, Jonathan Frey, 21, of the City of Lockport, was arrested last week and arraigned in Niagara County Youth Court on a charge of first-degree hindering prosecution, First Assistant District Attorney Doreen M. Hoffmann said Tuesday.
Cheyenne Farewell, 20, of Medina, died after being shot at the party in a garage attached to a house at 43 S. Niagara St., Lockport. Police found eight holes from bullets shot through a windowless metal door.
A surveillance camera on a nearby building captured images of two persons walking toward the closed door and at least one of them firing a gun toward it before they ran away.
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The five wounded victims, two each from Lockport and Medina and one from Corfu, ranged in age from 15 to 21.
The names of the alleged shooters, ages 16 and 17, both from Lockport, have not been publicly disclosed. Both are charged with second-degree murder.
Youth Court Judge Diane L. Vitello ordered reporters not to publish their names as a condition of being allowed to cover their Oct. 26 preliminary hearing, after defense attorneys argued for a completely closed courtroom.
Their identities are protected by terms of New York's "Raise the Age" law that created Youth Court for cases involving offenders under age 18.
Frey is not covered by that statute but his case is being handled in Youth Court because he is considered a co-defendant with the teenagers, Hoffmann said.
Frey was rated a Level 3 sex offender, the most serious category, when he was paroled in November 2018 from a two-year sentence for third-degree criminal sexual act. Frey had sex with a 14-year-old girl in Lockport July 15, 2016, according to the state sex offender registry.
Frey's sentence also included 10 years of post-release supervision, which could be converted into prison time for violations.
The Oct. 26 preliminary hearing disclosed that the 17-year-old confessed to Lockport detectives, but his attorney at the hearing, Assistant Public Defender Mark Grossman, challenged the legality of the interview.
The 17-year-old was charged with escape Dec. 11 when he briefly got away from a Niagara County sheriff's deputy taking him to a medical appointment in Buffalo.
Both defendants are being held in lieu of $500,000 bail in an Erie County youth detention facility in Buffalo.
