Former Baldwin High basketball standout's killers facing life in prison

Two men convicted in the fatal shooting of a former Baldwin High School basketball standout from Freeport both could spend the rest of their lives in prison.

Michael Williams, 25, was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison and Kevon Johnson, 30, will serve 20 years to life after both were convicted of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and two counts of second-degree illegal gun possession in connection with the 2022 killing of 24-year-old Jabeon Bivins, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.

On Aug. 15, 2022, the men, both from Far Rockaway, Queens, fired 21 shots into a crowded sidewalk courtyard outside the Redfern Houses in Far Rockaway, where Bivins had gathered with another man and three women.

Security camera footage from that night, released by the NYPD, shows nearly a dozen people sitting on park benches around 6:20 p.m., enjoying the warm weather at the apartment complex, when two men approach, one wearing a gray hoodie and the other a red hoodie.

Though their identities are obscured by their sweatshirts, the video shows the men open fire on the crowd.

Detectives found 16 shell casings from a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol and five .45-caliber shell casings at the scene, prosecutors said.

Bivins took off running with others in the crowd, but a bullet struck him in the back of the head as he fled across Redfern Avenue, officials said. He collapsed and died at the scene, according to authorities.

"These two men opened fire on a summer evening with no regard for anyone around them and left a young man to die in the street," District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. "Gun violence has stolen too many lives in our communities. We are attacking gun violence at every level. The defendants will now serve lengthy sentences in prison."

After the shooting, Bivins, a point guard, was remembered as a scorer and a hard worker.

At the time, Baldwin High School coach Darius Burton described him as "very strong. Could really score the ball."

"And Baldwin basketball really grew into him. He worked hard on the court. It's just a tremendous tragedy to be so young," Burton said.

Former Hempstead Mayor Don Ryan knew Bivins and mentored him.

"We had a chance to see him on and off the court. We were just in love with him. He was just a joy," Ryan told Newsday in 2022. "We had a few really good guards. He was a good defender. Unselfish on offense, and he could score. He was a complete ballplayer."

The defense attorneys for Johnson and Williams could not be reached for comment.