A Springfield Gardens gang member was sentenced to 21 years in prison on July 30 for fatally shooting an 18-year-old boy outside a neighborhood McDonald’s restaurant in September 2024.
Rayvon Phillip, 19, of 167th Street, a reputed member of the BG4 street gang known on the street as “Ray-G,” pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree on July 14.
According to the charges, on the night of Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, between 10:15 and 10:20 p.m., video surveillance footage shows Phillip outside the McDonald’s at 221-12 South Conduit Ave. in Springfield Gardens. A car is seen on video at the drive-through with four men inside the vehicle, including 18-year-old Akim Cisse. As the car drove past, Phillip allegedly pointed a handgun and shot at the vehicle approximately three times. Cisse, who had just turned 18 four days earlier, was seated in the passenger seat and sustained a single gunshot to the back of the head.
Cisse was transported by private means to Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Manhasset, where he was listed in critical condition. He lost brain function overnight and succumbed to his injuries the following morning. Detectives from the 105th Precinct in Queens Village arrested Philip at his residence near the Belt Parkway just after noon on Wednesday, Oct. 2.
“This defendant indiscriminately fired into a car filled with people, killing Akim Cisse, who had just celebrated his 18th birthday,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “I thank members of my Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau for building a strong case against this defendant, leading to a guilty plea. We hope today’s verdict brings a measure of closure to the victim’s loved ones.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder sentenced Phillip to 21 years in prison to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.
Cisse, who lived on 224th Street near Idlewild Park in Springfield Gardens, just four blocks south of the scene of his murder, was a recent graduate of Transit Tech Career and Technical Education High School in the City Line section of Brooklyn, where he played for the Express basketball team.
“We’re saddened to announce the loss of a former student-athlete and high school graduate, Akim Cisse,” Transit Tech CTE H.S. said in a statement on social media. “Akim was a former JV and Varsity athlete for the Express who came to us in junior high school. He was a friend and brother to all. We express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Akim is forever in our hearts. Ball in peace.”
