By Bianca Fortis
A Far Rockaway man Tuesday received the maximum prison sentence of 25 years for the shooting death of a witness who testified againsthim in an earlier case, the Queens DA said.
Shytique Kelly, 22, of 444 Beach 58th St. in Averne, pleaded guilty last month to first-degree manslaughter, according to the DA’s office.
Kelly admitted to approaching Tysheen Coakley, 21, and two other individuals one evening in May 2012 at the intersection of 110th Avenue and 160th Street in South Jamaica, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Coakley had testified against Kelly in an earlier robbery case, according to the DA.
In pleading guilty, Kelly admitted to firing in the direction of the group and hitting Coakley in the chest, the DA said.
Prosecutors also said Kelly violated an order of protection that Coakley had filed against him after he had threatened to kill him in 2011 and that Kelly had forced another witness to swear falsely to an affidavit because the witness feared repercussion.
Kelly was arrested three days after he killed Coakley when police found him hiding in a closet with a loaded two-shot derringer pistol — the murder weapon — above him on a shelf, prosecutors said.
He initially faced charges of murder, attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon, contempt and tampering with a witness, the DA said last year,
His girlfriend, Jazmin Guillebeaux, 21, of 148-03 Huxley St., was sentenced to two to six years in prison after she pleaded guilty last month to first-degree hindering prosecution, Brown said. The Rosedale woman, who had faced charges of murder and criminal facilitation, admitted to driving Kelly to and from the crime scene to make a getaway, according to the DA’s office.
“The sentences imposed today serve as an example of our commitment to protect the integrity of the criminal justice system,” Brown said. “Both defendants will serve significant time behind bars for the role that each played in the death of a young man.”
Kelly’s attorney could not be reached. Guillebeaux’s attorney declined to comment.
Reach reporter Bianca Fortis by email at bfortis@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
