Jonathan Bandler, Matt Spillane, and Michael D'Onofrio

The Journal News

The arrest of four suspects Wednesday in connection with the September fatal shooting of Oakland A's baseball prospect Michael Nolan in Yonkers will bring no peace to his family.

"They put my family through hell and they are going to pay for what they did," said Nolan’s mother, Donna, as she held back tears during a press conference at Yonkers police station today.

"I don’t want this to be about those four, loser dirtbags that took my son’s life," she said. "I don't want it to be about them. They are where they belong and that's where they will stay."

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Yonkers Police Commissioner Charles Gardner said that the shooting was the culmination of a Sept. 16 argument during a drag race on Tuckahoe Road. That argument led to a "physical dispute" later on Sept. 17 between the four suspects and other individuals, Gardner said.

Nolan was shot in the head and torso one day later.

While Nolan's car was not involved in the race on Tuckahoe Road that allegedly led to the shooting, he was present at the race. Gardner said police believe the four suspects were shooting at those involved in that dispute, but police do not know if Nolan was the intended target.

On Monday, a grand jury indicted the four suspects. The indictment was unsealed Wednesday and the four appeared briefly in Westchester County Court before Acting State Supreme Court Justice Robert Neary. Nolan's parents and three brothers looked on in the courtroom. The suspects are scheduled to be formally arraigned Thursday. They have been ordered held at the Westchester County jail.

Nashaun Hunter, 17, of the Bronx, the suspected shooter, has been charged with second-degree murder. Garth O'Neil Cole, 22, of Mount Vernon, Tejmitra Singh, 23, of the Bronx and Darren Dawson of the Bronx, who turns 19 on Friday, have been charged with first-degree assault.

All four suspects were allegedly in the car at the time of the shooting. Cole, who police said owned the car, was believed to be the driver as Hunter shot the bullets that killed Nolan. ​

"The allegations in the indictment are frightening," said Acting District Attorney James McCarty. "It's alleged that Nashaun Hunter aided and abetted by Garth O'Neil Cole, Darren Dawson and Tejmitra Singh piled into a car and drove to a fast food restaurant at which point the car they were in slowed so that Hunter could fire six shots and kill Michael Nolan, an innocent young man with a promising future."

Yonkers Police Det. Dale Hughes, one of the lead investigating detectives, said it was a “little difficult in the beginning” to break the silence of witnesses. But once people began to cooperate, “the walls started to fall," which helped lead to the arrests. Officials said police pieced together information from interviews, video surveillance, and phone records to make the arrests. In addition, Yonkers Det. Capt. Joseph Monaco said social media “helped us to develop potential suspects in the investigation."

Nicholas Servidio, the other Yonkers police detective leading the case, said the suspects were “very surprised” when they were arrested. “I don’t think they were expecting the reality of the situation," he said.

Nolan, a 23-year-old Yonkers native, was shot in the parking lot of a Burger King at 826 Central Park Ave. just after 12:30 a.m. Sept. 18. Police said Nolan was with several other people at the fast food restaurant, across from the Cross County Shopping Center.

Authorities said Nolan was standing outside his black Mercedes-Benz loaner car when a white Toyota Camry carrying the four suspects rolled up slowly, Hunter firing six shots from the driver's side window. One shot struck Nolan in the head, authorities said.

Nolan was placed in a medically induced coma at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx and was declared dead Oct. 9.

At the press conference in Yonkers, Donna Nolan was joined by her husband, Jimmy, and son, Jimmy Jr. All of them were wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts, as well as buttons, emblazoned with the image of Michael Nolan.

When asked if the arrests would bring the family a sense of closure, Jimmy Nolan said: "This will be with me for the rest of my life. ... My house, it's different."

Jimmy Nolan also held up a large photo album filled with family photos. “This is our last family picture together,” he said as he wiped away tears and pointed to a photo. “He was going to be the godfather of his friend’s son.”

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As a senior at Yonkers' Saunders Trades and Technical High School in 2009, Nolan led the baseball team to 15 wins, a program record. The 6-foot-7 left-hander wasn’t considered a hot commodity by colleges. He bounced around small colleges in Texas and Oklahoma, fought back from Tommy John surgery and developed himself into a pro prospect. In 2014, Nolan was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 18th round (552nd overall) of the 2014 first-year player draft.

Donna Nolan said that she "will never accept" the murder of her son.

"The bottom line here is, he was taken from us for no reason whatsoever," she said. "They go to jail, OK. I still don't get my son back. Nothing is ever going to bring him back, and nothing is ever going to take away that pain."

The suspects, charges

The four suspects charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Michael Nolan:

Nashaun Hunter, 17, of 4375 Bruner Ave., the Bronx,the accused gunman, charged with second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, felonies.

Charged with first-degree assault and two counts of of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, felonies:

Garth O'Neil Cole, 22, of 406 S. Third Ave., Mount Vernon.

Darren Dawson, who turns 19 on Friday, of 4352 Bruner Ave., the Bronx.

Tejmitra Singh, 23, of 760 E. 237th St., the Bronx