3 are sentenced in shooting that killed Medina woman, injured 5 others

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 October 2021 at 9:37 am

17-year-old shooter sentenced to 20 years to life

Cheyenne Farewell

LOCKPORT – Three people were sentenced to state prison on Thursday for their roles in the shooting death of a Medina woman and also for injuring five others by gunfire.

Cheyenne Farewell, 20, of Medina was killed when she was shot while attending a Halloween party last Oct. 17 in Lockport. Five others were injured when bullets were fired through a side garage door of a home on South Niagara Street.

Jeff Farewell, Cheyenne’s father, posted this message on his Facebook page: “Thank you everyone for your support. This part of the chapter is over. Now it’s time to start another. I don’t know what that is but I’m positive Cheyenne Farewell will show me the way….”

Two youths, ages 16 and 17, were charged with murder in the second degree, multiple counts of first-degree assault and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and criminal possession of a weapon.

One of the defendants pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced by Niagara County Court Judge Matthew Murphy to 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison. Murphy granted this defendant youthful offender status and his name shouldn’t be published.

The youthful offender possessed a gun and walked up to the garage door but did not fire any shots, said District Attorney Brian Seaman. The DA said he wanted a longer sentence for this defendant and opposed him being given YO status.

The other adolescent offender, Shawn Johnson, was the shooter, Seaman said. Johnson plead guilty to second-degree murder, several assault charges and a weapons charge. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

Jonathan Frey, the adult who drove the vehicle involved, entered a guilty plea to hindering prosecution, and was sentenced to 2 to 4 years in state prison.

“This case was a complex and tragic incident ably investigated by the Lockport Police Department,” First Assistant District Attorney Doreen Hoffman and Executive ADA Mary-Jean Bowman said in a statement from the DA’s Office.

“The sentencing of these individuals brings the legal proceedings in this sad chapter of Lockport’s history to an end,” Seaman said. “It is my hope that it will also bring some sense of closure to the victims and their families who will continue to suffer greatly.”