21-year-old arrested in fatal shooting of Mount Vernon teen

Coghiel pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and a weapons charge at his arraignment this afternoon. He was arrested in Brooklyn at around 1 a.m.

Jonathan Gordon and Lee Danuff

Mar 14, 2023, 6:20 PM

Updated 629 days ago

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An arrest has been made in the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old Mount Vernon boy last Thursday. 
Tyrese Coghiel, 21, has been charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Zyaire Fernandez was shot in the courtyard of Levister Towers apartment buildings. He died at Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital.
Fernandez was a ninth grader at Mount Vernon STEAM Academy.
Coghiel pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and a weapons charge at his arraignment this afternoon. He was arrested in Brooklyn at around 1 a.m. 
It was revealed in court he had an outstanding arrest warrant dated back to last summer on a criminal mischief charge when he allegedly damaged an ex-girlfriend's car. Police did not say why he wasn't taken into custody for that. 
"There was a warrant for him on a minor charge and that also has been brought up in the courts," said Capt. Michael Goldman, of Mount Vernon's detective division. 
A motive for the shooting has not been released. Police held a briefing after the arraignment but did not share where Coghiel was arrested, his connection to the victim or what led to the shooting.
Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard said the entire city is in mourning.
"Whenever a life is taken, another life is also lost to the system - and so it is tragic on both sides, and so Mount Vernon will be impacted," she said. 
The victim's family did not want to speak after court, but Fernandez's mother Tara Williams said in a statement that said in part, "While my family and I are somewhat relieved at the news of an arrest, it does not bring Zyaire back."