Rest in Peace J.B. Hehman (TLOZ Link5) [Archive] - Page 2

YesIsaidYesIwillYes

August 26th, 2006, 02:38 AM

I used to post on here regularly several years ago, but haven't in a long while. So imagine my horror to read this horribly sad news about J.B. I remember his moniker well and the uncanny intelligence of his posts; as we all know, he was wise beyond his years. I'm not sure if his family reads these threads anymore, but my heart goes out to them. After all this time of not visiting Wired New York, TLOZ was one of the few handles I did remember. And I was happy to see that TLOZ's great quotation "be to its virtues..." which is now hanging in the park, was extracted from a thread that I started.

Now, to let off something of my chest that has been bothering me all day. And I hope not to bring a negative and hateful vibe around what I think is a positive thread dedicated to J.B.'s memory, but the image in my mind of these hooligans laughing after J.B.'s murder disturbs me to no end. I keep reading that these evil boys are probably going to be let off the hook (I could be wrong), and I can't help but get sick to my stomach. Does anyone else find this possibility absurd; terrifying? What's being done with them? These boys were old enough and fully cognizant to understand what they were doing. It's one thing to mug him, but it's another to revel in his violent and senseless death. That is the one despicable fact I cannot reconcile in all of this.

OK, I'm done.

Rest in Peace, J.B. You were a good soul and will be missed. You may have been only a screen name on a screen to me, but your absence is felt.

ablarc

August 26th, 2006, 11:09 AM

^ A heartfelt message, YesIsaidYesIwillYes.

Caused me to check out the list of threads you started. You've made a distinguished contribution to Wired New York, launching some of the most interesting topics. Won't you come back and let us have some more of the pleasure of your company?

Nobody can replace TLOZ, but the forum needs a classical music lover.

YesIsaidYesIwillYes

August 26th, 2006, 12:25 PM

I'll certainly come around here more often, ablarc.

Hopefully this board can use a resident Chicagoan who's looking to get back to NY.

ablarc

August 26th, 2006, 12:29 PM

Hopefully this board can use a resident Chicagoan who's looking to get back to NY.
Indeed. But you'd better come with plenty of money.

Libby

August 27th, 2006, 01:54 AM

I'm not sure if his family reads these threads anymore, but my heart goes out to them.

JB's dad is my cousin. I visit the forum and this thread frequently. I think of him and his dad and sister often. Thank you for the kind words.

lofter1

August 30th, 2006, 04:49 PM

I just came across this post from JB: http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=75668&postcount=15

It gave me a good laugh ...

ManhattanKnight

September 29th, 2006, 12:16 PM

From this week's issue of The Villager:
A second-degree manslaughter charge was dropped on Sept. 19 against Denzell Fell, 14, one of four teenagers charged in the death last April of Broderick John Hehman, 20, a New York University student who was hit by a car while fleeing the four teenagers trying to rob him on a Harlem street.

The dropping of the manslaughter charge was the result of a plea bargain that Fell would plead guilty to a single second-degree murder charge. It could reduce Fell’s sentence to 18 months. Humberto Guzman, 14, and Andre Johnson and Clarence Hassan Mayfield, both 15, also pleaded guilty to single murder charges and are likely to receive 18-month sentences in the Family Court case.

http://www.thevillager.com/villager_178/policeblotter.html

ablarc

September 29th, 2006, 03:22 PM

Eighteen months? How much time did they take from JB?

lofter1

September 29th, 2006, 08:44 PM

That ^^^ just doesn't seem right ...

lofter1

September 29th, 2006, 08:58 PM

A recent article from the NYU paper ...

Charge drop in NYU murder trial

nyu news (http://www.nyunews.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/09/19/450f7b9663fa4)
by Brittani Mazno
Assignment Editor
September 19, 2006

A city prosecutor dropped a charge of second-degree manslaughter yesterday against one of the four teens who pleaded guilty to the murder of an NYU student last spring.

Denzell Fell, 14, had been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in murder of Broderick John “JB” Hehman, a 20-year-old CAS junior, but the latter charge was dropped due to Fell’s willingness to enter a plea bargain.

Humberto Guzman, also 14, and Andre Johnson and Clarence Hassan Mayfield, both 15, all pleaded guilty this summer and testifyed that they were trying to rob Hehman when they chased him into the street in Harlem last April.

Hehman was hit by a car and died three days later.

The case is being heard in New York City Family Court (http://www.courts.state.ny.us/ New York City Family Court) and prosecuted by the City Law Department. According to the plea bargain, Fell would have been required to testify against the other boys in order to get his second charge dropped in the event they did not plead guilty.

Fell’s attorneys said that having one of the charges dropped is important for reducing the sentence.

“The significance is that there is now an 18 month cap on his sentence,” said Colleen Samuels, one of his attorneys. “Either way, it is a significant amount of time for the boys to think about what they did.”

Mayfield also had a hearing yesterday, where his attorney and the prosecutor questioned a court liaison from the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/rehab/) about the different facilities that Mayfield could be placed in.

He will be placed in either a secure facility or a limited-secure facility, which allows residents slightly more freedom. Both types of facilities offer education and the means to provide and care for the residents.

Both cases have been adjourned until Oct. 3.

© 2006 Washington Square News

macreator

September 30th, 2006, 11:12 AM

This is ridiculous. These kids deserve real jail time, not coddling for 18 months. They killed a man -- called him racial slurs. They took a good person from this world for what...$20 bucks?

lofter1

September 30th, 2006, 11:55 AM

It seems that each of the four of the guys involved in JB's death (all under 16) have now pleaded to 2nd Degree Murder. Their ages seem to be the legal sticking point.

The definition under NY State Law is found here (note that the law is specific to persons "being eighteen years old or more"): http://law.onecle.com/new-york/penal/PEN0125.25_125.25.html (http://law.onecle.com/new-york/penal/PEN0125.25_125.25.html)

A juvenile offender law signed by Governor Pataki in 2003 ( Penny's Law (http://www.ny.gov/governor/press/03/july22_1_03.htm) ) does allow the state to prosecute juveniles accused of 2nd Degree Murder as adults, which would allow for tougher sentencing:

" ... a juvenile who is convicted as an adult for second degree murder would receive a minimum sentence of 7 ½ years to life and a maximum of 15 years to life.

Under current law, a juvenile offender can be tried for murder in the second degree as an adult. However, upon conviction, the juvenile could receive only a maximum sentence of nine years to life in prison. Penny's law changes the sentencing range for juveniles aged 14 and 15, convicted of intentional murder and depraved indifference murder, from 5-9 years to life, to 7 ½ to 15 years to life. "
There is another provision (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_provison qa3985/is_200308/ai_n9271992) under "Penny's Law"

The law also allows judges to sentence juveniles as young as 16 to adult prison.
Under NYS Law a 2nd Degree Murder commited by a juvenile can be transferred (http://www.ncjj.org/stateprofiles/asp/transfer.asp?topic=Transfer&state=NY06.asp) from Criminal Court to Family Court:

At the district attorney's request, the local criminal court may remove such a case to family court if, after considering a number of factors specified by law, it concludes that to do so would be "in the interests of justice."
The "number of factors specified by law" that need to be considered are outlined at the link above.

Honestly I don't see how the guys who caused JB's death meet those factors -- the only factor that appears to be even possible to apply in this case would be the one regarding "mitigating circumstances directly bearing on the way the crime was committed".

lofter1

October 14th, 2006, 10:33 AM

Teens sentenced in murder of student

Remaining two teens to appear in court next week

nyunews.com (http://www.nyunews.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/10/04/45233b4e04fa3?in_archive=1)
by Brittani Mazno
Assignment Editor
October 04, 2006

Two of the four teens charged for the murder of an NYU student last spring have been sentenced to 18 months in a state detention facility for juveniles.

Denzell Fell and Humberto Guzman, both 14, pleaded guilty this past summer to the murder of Broderick John “JB” Hehman after they had chased him into the street last April. Hehman was hit by a car and died three days later.

Fell, who was sentenced yesterday in New York City Family Court by Judge Mary Bednar, will serve his sentence with the Office of Children and Family Services, city officials said.

Last month Guzman was also sentenced to serve 18 months.

Fell’s attorney, Daniel Gotlin, said his client will probably only have to serve less than a year of his sentence due to his good behavior throughout the process thus far.

“He has no record,” Gotlin said. “He doesn’t get in trouble while he’s incarcerated, he goes to school and does well in school.”

A spokesperson from the New York City Law Department, which prosecuted the case, said both could have their sentences extended year by year until their 18th birthdays.

The Office of Children and Family Services will conduct psychiatric evaluations over the next seven to 10 days before assigning the boys to particular facilities, Gotlin said.

“Unfortunately, Denzell got caught up in the situation,” he said. “It’s a tragic thing that happened. This is just a 13-year-old kid who’s just a baby. He’s really repentant.”

Clarence Hassan Mayfield and Andre Johnson, both 15, also pleaded guilty in the case. Their cases have been adjourned until next week.

© 2006 Washington Square News

Note: I attended the sentencing hearing for Denzell Fell on October 3. When Fell's attorney, Daniel Gotlin, said to the court that what happened was a "tragedy" Judge Mary E. Bednar cut him off and strongly proclaimed that it was NOT a tragedy for Fell, but indeed it was a tragedy for JB and his family. Gotlin scrambled and agreed with the judge.

Given the restrictions under the law (described in the post above) it appeared to me that both Judge Bednar and the Corporation Counsel (the lawyer representing NYC and prosecuting the cases against those who caused the death of JB) were doing everything in their power to assure that justice is achieved in this case and that the interests of JB, his family and society as a whole are being looked after.

lofter1

October 19th, 2006, 10:34 AM

Judge sentences student's killer

nyunews.com (http://www.nyunews.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/10/16/45331d2344209?in_archive=1)
by Sara Dover
Staff Writer
October 16, 2006

The two teens awaiting sentencing for their roles in the murder of an NYU student appeared in court on Friday, where one received a three-year sentence and friends and family testified on behalf of the other.

Andre Johnson, 15, and Clarence Hassan Mayfield, 16, appeared before Judge Mary Bednar in New York City Family Court for the two separate hearings regarding the death of 20-year-old Broderick John “JB” Hehman last April.

Johnson was sentenced to a maximum of three years in a juvenile detention facility with the state’s Office of Children and Family Services. The sentence can be extended each year until his 21st birthday, a spokesperson for the city said.

Johnson is the third of Hehman’s four murderers to receive sentencing. A few weeks earlier, Humberto Guzman and Denzell Fell, both 14, were sentenced to 18 months in the juvenile detention facility. All four boys pleaded guilty to second-degree murder this past summer, after testifying that they had chased Hehman into the street in Harlem in an attempt to rob him. Hehman, a CAS junior, was then hit by a car and died of a brain hemorrhage three days later.

Johnson appeared in court with his parents and other family members, all of whom refused to comment.

In a separate hearing following Johnson’s sentencing, members of Mayfield’s family testified on his behalf and spoke about his good character, bringing the teen to tears at one point.

“I’d like for them to give him a chance,” Mayfield’s mother, Natasha Jenkins, said during questioning by her son’s attorney, Earl Rawlins. “He wants to be a lawyer.”

Mayfield’s grandmother, Carol Mayfield, said in her testimony that Clarence Hassan Mayfield would always come to her house and help her out with chores.

“I was really upset when I found out that happened,” she said, “because that’s not [like] Hassan.”

Rawlins also presented several certificates to the court that were awarded to Mayfield while he was in school for excellence in and academics and behavior for success in a basketball tournament.

Prosecutor Laurie Smith, arguing for the New York City Law Department, pointed out that Mayfield received those awards while he was in a school detention program.

Jenkins said she thought her son was benefiting from the detention, but added that he would have been doing well anyway.

Six of Mayfield’s friends came to the courthouse to support him.

“They said it was a full moon that night,” Drew Singleton, a friend, said. “Bad luck that was.”

Dell Taylor, another friend, was also very dismayed by Mayfield’s situation.

“He was locked up on his birthday. We got some shirts [that said:] ‘Let my man go,’ ” he said. “It was just the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s how it happens.”

Hehman’s family did not appear at either the sentencing or the trial, but Bednar said she had letters from both his immediate family and a relative expressing their concern and interest in the cases.

© 2006 Washington Square News

lofter1

October 19th, 2006, 10:41 AM

It is very upsetting to me to read ^^^ the comments of those who appeared in court on behalf of Clarence Mayfield and "testified on his behalf and spoke about his good character".

The NYU reporter makes no mention of any comments from any of those who appeared in regards to JB (that was one reason I went to the previous hearing so I could find out the full picture).

Just lame statements from Mayfield's friends, such as full moon = bad luck.

This one really cut me to the heart:

“It was just the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s how it happens.”

Seemingly these "kids" DO NOT GET IT if they think that JB's death is "how it happens".

No acknowledgment of responsiblity. No remorse.

Shameful.

It just makes me really sad.

I can only hope that the Judge will do everything she can to make sure that Mayfield has a LONG TIME to rethink his connection to the death of JB.

ablarc

October 19th, 2006, 04:25 PM

Just lame statements from Mayfield's friends, such as full moon = bad luck.

“It was just the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s how it happens.”

Seemingly these "kids" DO NOT GET IT if they think that JB's death is "how it happens".

No acknowledgment of responsiblity. No remorse.

Shameful.

It just makes me really sad.
It's the mythos of victimhood; we do our share on this forum to encourage that belief.

Criminals are cast as "victims" of fate or of a corrupt society, both of which are blamed for the miscreants' acts.

How can we expect anybody to take responsibility for their actions if we encourage such bs? Everyone has free will and ultimately chooses his actions.

The society may be corrupt, but every wrongdoer is a victim of himself --as he simultaneously victimizes others.

Ninjahedge

October 19th, 2006, 05:05 PM

This is bad. I hear comments like that and I hope that these kids get chased into traffic on the night of a full moon to see just how much "bad luck" there is.

I almost wish I was there so I could have shouted at these little shizznits. I don't think I would have been able to last more than 5 minutes before I was kicked out with the kind of things I am hearing here.

the real tragedy, as Loft pointed out, was not he things they said, but the fact that they just do not GET IT. It would have been bad if they were bad as....apples or something and they spoke their mind, but the fact that they did not CARE about what happened sickens me.

Black man gets chased into traffic in a white neighborhood, news for months. A white kid gets chased into traffic in a black neighborhood and it is just "bad luck"?

Don't get me wrong, I do not think the crime was racial. These kids would have done that to anyone, but the way society treats this is almost as shameful as its perpetrators.

ZippyTheChimp

October 19th, 2006, 05:05 PM

It's the mythos of victimhood; we do our share on this forum to encourage that belief.It's in extremely poor taste that you've taken several opportunities (in different threads) to use the tragic death of JB to make soapbox political statements about issues discussed in this forum.

I was reluctant to comment about it in the past, hoping it would just end.

lofter1

October 19th, 2006, 06:42 PM

I don't want bad things to happen to anyone ... and didn't post the information here regarding the sentencing in the hope of getting people riled up.

That's one of the reasons that I posted the legal info -- to put the sentencing process into some context.

What I did hope for was that the individuals involved in JB's death would have made some movement towards real inner acknowledgement that their actions are what caused the end of JB's life on this planet. And felt some remorse. And empathy for JB's family and friends -- with the understanding that the loss of JB affected a large circle of people.

Both Denzell Fell and Humberto Guzman seem to have started down that path.

However, sadly I see no indication that either Clarence Hassan Mayfield or Andre Johnson have taken even the first real step in that direction.

Finally, I think it would be good for all of us to remember that some members of JB's family follow this thread from time to time -- and if we want to continue with a public discourse we should do so with some respect and consideration.

Schadenfrau

October 20th, 2006, 12:25 AM

Lofter, thanks for all of the updates you've given us on the story. I've been trying to follow it in the news, but really appreciate your first-hand views. You're a good man.

lofter1

October 20th, 2006, 09:06 AM

Teenage mistake:
Wrong place and the wrong time is no excuse

nyunews.com (http://www.nyunews.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/10/18/4536f5a51646b)
by Alvin Chang
Life of Alvin
October 18, 2006

We had launched a projectile 150 feet into a moving car’s windshield. The car swerved as the object shattered through the glass. I was 14 years old. We ran.

We meant no harm. We were just kids playing with water balloons and a water-balloon launcher. In fact, we had no idea that water could do so much damage — we were almost in a state of awe when the car started to swerve.

Hiding in a bush, we thought about what we had done. Was the lady driving the car still alive? What’s going to happen to us?

I thought about why we did this in the first place: We wanted to have fun, fit in and just be the invincible teenagers we thought we were.

Denzell Fell, Humberto Guzman, Clarence Hassan Mayfield and Andre Johnson: These are the 14- to 16-year-old kids responsible for killing NYU student JB Hehman last April after chasing him into a Harlem street in an attempt to rob him.

No matter how you justify it, these kids are murderers and it doesn’t do Hehman any justice to label them as anything else.

But this Monday, one of their friends‚ Langston Davis, posted feedback on WSN’s website about Mayfield. He made me think.

“Hassan is not into doing bad things — he likes to play basketball,” Davis wrote.

When I was hiding in that bush, I could have been a mischievous child or murderer. If that balloon landed in front of the driver, she could have been seriously injured. She could have swerved into a pole. She could be dead.

I wasn’t a bad kid. My two accomplices and I were straight-A students — in fact, we had not served a single detention in middle school. But we were teenagers looking to form childhood memories — or, more accurately, we just wanted to antagonize some people for the hell of it.

I don’t know these kids personally, but I do know what it’s like to be 14.

Luckily, I grew up in a nice neighborhood in Kansas. Our recklessness was suppressed, and we learned from our mistakes. We were never caught in the eye of the tornado.

Raising a child in New York City is tough. When I see a successful family in the city, I respect them. Last week, I saw a mother ditch her teenager in a subway train because she was so frustrated with him. At the next stop, the kid seemed to know what to do — obviously, it had happened before.

In second grade, I lived in Hacienda Heights, Calif., a less-than-stellar neighborhood. One of my friends stole a letter opener from our house, and I didn’t say anything because he was the cool kid. I wanted to be his friend.

The next day, he jumped out of a bush and threatened two girls with the knife-like object. I moved to Kansas the next year. I always wonder what would have happened if we had stayed there.

“He just met up with the wrong people at the wrong time,” Davis wrote about Mayfield.

After hearing these kids’ stories and what their friends and parents have to say, it’s obvious that this wasn’t supposed to happen. These kids had potential but instead, they destroyed their lives and took away another’s.

Mayfield wants to be a lawyer, his mom said at last week’s hearing: “I’d like for them to give him a chance.”

All four boys pleaded guilty to second-degree murder this past summer. Fell, Guzman and Johnson have been sentenced, but Mayfield’s sentencing is coming up.

“I have one more thing to say,” Langston Davis writes. “Let my man go. Free Hassan.”

Sorry, Langston. Hassan can’t be free. Like you said, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He made the mistake of putting himself at that place during that time. He has to pay the price.

Our water balloon landed three feet to the left of the driver. The lady was uninjured. We owed her $800 for the windshield and an apology. We didn’t owe her a life.

I made a mistake, and I got lucky.

© 2006 Washington Square News

BrooklynRider

October 23rd, 2006, 01:25 PM

Following the death of JB and the ensuing prosecution and defense we get a good look at our legal system. We have laws designed to be clear, fair and equitable. Law that take into account issues such as the age of the perpetrator and the legal and family history of the defendants. But it is very clear that the application of the law does not always equal "justice."

I am thinking more of the Hehman's through this. They are not there participating in this and, in a sense, I totally understand it. We want to think that all things are equal, but they are not. These kids live in a neighborhood we all agree is one of the worst, if not THE WORST, in Manhattan. JB was from a well-to-do, tight-knit family that enjoyed a higher quality of life.

It's hard to figure out what exactly would constitute "punishment" for these kids, who we can fairly call "hoodlums" and "thugs" based on their action in this case. Sentence them to time in juvenile detention or free them to go on living life as a teen in East Harlem in their parent's custody? Rehabilitation, discipline, and structured environment or back to parent's who have evidently failed to instill some basic moral standards such as thou shalt not kill and thou shalt not steal? They are a product of their environment and removing them from that environment that cultivated them thus far is justice served to society and the defendants.

My heart goes out to the Hehman's because regardless of sentencing there is no justice for them in either outcome. They need to find a place of forgiveness - not because those boys deserve it, but rather because, by forgiving these punks, the Hehman's can move on and let their wounds heal. Resentment gets them nowhere. Resentment is simply taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

The big shame in all of this is how few people even care about these things - unless it happens to them or their family. Bravo to WNY for following this tragedy and the pusuit of justice. It is rare to see a discourse that is so informed.

lofter1

October 31st, 2006, 11:00 AM

No new news as of yet on Judge Bednar's "written decision" regarding Mayfield's sentencing ...

Sentenced in slay

thevillager.com/policeblotter (http://www.thevillager.com/villager_182/policeblotter.html)
Volume 76, Number 23
October 25 - 31, 2006

Andre Johnson, 15, one of the four teenagers who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last April of Broderick John “JB” Hehman, the New York University student who died after he was hit by a car while fleeing from robbers, was sentenced in Family Court on Oct. 16 to three years in a juvenile detention facility. The sentence can be extended each year by one year until Johnson’s 21st birthday.

In another Family Court hearing the same day, the sentencing of another defendant in the case, Clarence Hassan Mayfield, 16, was adjourned until Oct. 23 for the attorneys to submit written summations. Family Court Judge Mary Bednar said she would issue a written decision later.

The two other defendants, Humberto Guzman and Denzell Fell, both 14, were sentenced previously to 18 months in juvenile detention.

© 2006 Community Media, LLC

BrooklynRider

November 13th, 2006, 03:31 PM

Greetings Friends-

As a closing article about JB, his attack and the fall-out, NYU News has chosen to focus on our memorial project. I've learned the hard way that one can talk endlessly and with great passion about issues to reporters only to see the words edited to a grunt. We'll see what is reported.

I must say recounting that day was more emotional than I had thought. As we spoke about how the project had developed and progressed, I recalled the morning of the project and the staggering fear that no one would show up.

We really did do something extraordinary for a group of complete strangers. I think NYU will be seeing exactly how much NYRP collected and get their reaction to the project. I hope someone will post it.

We need to remember the power we have in our own hands to make things happen if we simply follow through.

Best wishes to all.

BrooklynRider

November 14th, 2006, 03:22 PM

Student death creates bonds
by Brittani Manzo
Assignment Editor

November 14, 2006

Last Spring, JB Hehman’s was enrolled in a course titled “Urban Violence in America.”

His professor for the course, Daniel Walkowitz, described the events that followed as a “tragic, supreme irony.”

On April 1, Hehman, 20, was hit by a car in Harlem after four teens chased him into the street. He died of a brain hemorrhage three days later.

JB was committed to social justice issues and extremely passionate about the city, Walkowitz said.

He was a member of Wired New York, an online forum where anonymous members discuss commercial, real estate and political news of the city. And as soon as the Wired community found out about Hehman’s death, they knew they wanted to pay him tribute.

On May 13, 20 members of the online community removed their veil of anonymity and met at Maggie’s Garden on West 149th Street and Broadway to remember and mourn their friend and fellow “forumer,” Broderick John Hehman, known as “JB” to his friends at home and school, but as “TLOZ Link5” to Wired New York members.

“There was an awful lot of talk about hate and race going on,” he said. “We knew that wasn’t what JB was about and we wanted to go out there and show that there were other ways to demonstrate to the community our grief, but also show that there were positive outlets for the emotions, the negative emotions the accident had stirred up.”

International and national donors from the Wired community collected $5,000 to create the memorial project for TLOZ Link5.

They decided to work through the New York Restoration Project, a city organization that owns 57 gardens throughout the city which are preserved as land trusts and open spaces. The organization matched the Wired community’s fundraising efforts for the project. With that donation, the original $5,000 was used to establish the JB Hehman Endowment for Environmental Education, said Brian Sahd, vice president of community development at NYRP.

“It is a testament to how the internet has spawned and facilitated a new sense of community,” Sahd said. “It was very heartwarming to witness.”

JB’s friends and family from home, NYU and Wired beautified the park by planting perennials and a tree, and installing a plaque in his honor.

Though the day had a rough start — the volunteers were strangers with the only common bond of a deceased friend, he said — conversation soon began to flow as they started the project.

“Everyone started to tell stories, we all knew different aspects of JB’s life — I knew him as TLOZ Link5,” he said. “The most beautiful part, and this must sound cliché, was that it was overcast, and at the end of the day when we were dedicating the tree and reading the plaque — the sun came out, literally.”

lofter1

November 16th, 2006, 08:39 AM

Teen sentenced to five years for student's death

nyunews.com (http://www.nyunews.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/11/14/4559642b7ea82)
by Sara Dover
Staff Writer
November 14, 2006

News: City News

The last of four teens charged with the murder of an NYU student was sentenced to a maximum of five years in a state facility yesterday, ending a seven-month case surrounding the death of CAS junior Broderick John “JB” Hehman in April.

Clarence Hassan Mayfield, 16, is the fourth of the boys who pleaded guilty this summer to Hehman’s second-degree murder. Appearing before Judge Mary Bednar in New York City Family Court, Mayfield was ordered to a youth facility with the state-run Office of Children and Family Services.

Mayfield’s lawyer, Earl Rawlins, said it was not yet determined where his client would be placed, and that it was up to state officials. He added that Mayfield is a good person and will probably not benefit from the punishment.

“Knowing him, I don’t think restrictive placement was necessary,” he said, referring to the juvenile detention facility where his client will serve the beginning of his sentence.

The other three teens who pleaded guilty to Hehman’s murder — Humberto Guzman and Denzell Fell, both 14, and Andre Johnson, 15 — were previously sentenced in September and October, and will also be placed in juvenile facilities with the Office of Children and Family Services.

Hehman, 20, was hit by a car in Harlem last April after being chased into the street by the four boys. He died of a brain hemorrhage three days later. The four teens testified that they were trying to rob him.

After the hearing, the New York City Law Department released a statement through assistant corporation counsel Laurie Smith, who prosecuted the case.

“While nothing will bring back Broderick John Hehman, and our thoughts are with his family today, we are satisfied that the individuals who caused his death are being held to account,” Smith said. “We agree with Judge Bednar that the dispositions imposed are fair and appropriate.”

Yesterday’s ruling concludes the fact-finding and dispositional phase of the court proceedings, but the teens may go back to the court to request an extension before they are placed in the state facility, according to the law department.

If Mayfield does well in detention, Rawlins said, he could be released after one year or go on probation.

Mayfield’s mother, Natasha Jenkins, one of his grandmothers and friends attended the hearing. They collectively refused to comment because the media “twisted everything,” one said.

The sentencing only lasted several minutes. Afterward, Jenkins kissed her son on the cheek and smiled. Rawlins shook hands with Smith and spoke to Mayfield’s family and friends.

“They’re glad it’s over and whatever happens in the future will happen and he’s still a good kid,” Rawlins said. “They’re going to work with him and see it through.”

© 2006 Washington Square News

kz1000ps

November 17th, 2006, 06:32 PM

“The most beautiful part, and this must sound cliché, was that it was overcast, and at the end of the day when we were dedicating the tree and reading the plaque — the sun came out, literally.”

The perfect ending to what started off as an uncertain day :)

clubBR

March 18th, 2007, 11:14 PM

damn. i dont know what to say

NoyokA

March 19th, 2007, 12:23 AM

I could be wrong but I think I remember one of JB's old friends telling me that the family court the young thugs were tried at is a block away from his old dorm. I still don't know what to think about the whole situation, there is no final justice, I think we are all left with nothing more than a whole lot of mixed emotions. I think it would be good if we meet at the garden soon, which should provide some closure and understanding perhaps, I don't know if it should be on the anniversy of his death or the anniversy of the first garden meet.

kz1000ps

March 19th, 2007, 01:16 AM

About meeting up at Maggie's Garden soon, I agree. My one personal concern is that I'd love to meet up there when all the plants are in full bloom (or near that point) just because.. of course that would put things off until roughly June 1st, but there's something refreshing about witnessing nature at its fullest, especially knowing I helped to get it there in the name of a fallen friend. Again though, these are my personal feelings, but I guess this means I'd rather have the meeting happen on the anniversary of the planting.

BrooklynRider

March 19th, 2007, 11:17 AM

NY Restoration Project would certainly open it for us (but I'd bet they'd love us to come in and spruce up for Spring). I know the tree we planted did not survive and had to be replaced.

UnknownGirl

March 30th, 2007, 01:46 AM

I know the tree we planted did not survive and had to be replaced.

I was a friend of JB's. I've been lurking here for a while, a year, but now I wanted to say something. I read this line, and at first I thought it was very sad, that the tree didn't make it. A new wave of grief hit me, that the tree died. Then I thought, maybe it makes a good symbol for life and grief: you can't make things be the same as they were, but maybe you can try to make them as good as you can, as close as you can, like replacing the tree instead of just giving up. I look forward to working in the garden again, in the springtime, when everything blooms again, and with people who knew and cared about JB as much or more than I did.

Though I stayed quiet, this forum has been a comfort to me. Thank you all.

ryan

March 30th, 2007, 09:24 AM

That's a beautiful post.

Schadenfrau

March 30th, 2007, 12:02 PM

I'm really glad that both the forum and the garden give you some kind of peace, UnknownGirl. Take care.

LeCom

March 30th, 2007, 06:09 PM

Great post indeed, UnknownGirl. Where is the garden again?

lofter1

March 31st, 2007, 01:31 AM

All the info: News from "Maggie's Garden" (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9093)

kz1000ps

March 31st, 2007, 01:41 PM

Just below the "W" on W 149th St

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/1739/aaaaaaaaaaaaajo5.png

Taz

April 4th, 2007, 08:14 PM

Wow, I'm amazed that this thread is still kicking after a year. This truely is the greatest online family ever.

I'm not sure who is still posting here from when i first came to this place about a year ago, so i dont know if anyone here remembers me, so i direct your attention to this thread: http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?p=97547#post97547

I just figured I'd come back on here and see if this thread was still around on this, the one year anniversary of J.B's death.

It's weird, really, that I woke up today to find it was still pouring and continued for most of the day. I honestly cant believe it's been a year since J.B died. It still feels like yesterday that old friends from high school gathered at St. Monica's to say goodbye.

I still miss him, and i know everyone who knew him feels the same way. its jut really hard to believe that some of us dont even talk to eachother anymore and its only been a year. its like everything went back to how it was before, which is sad.

I guess i'll end this now, the same way i ended my only other posts on here:

Broderick John (JB) Hehman
5.28.85-4.4.06
Rest In Piece

BrooklynRider

April 5th, 2007, 01:02 AM

Taz

April 5th, 2007, 02:42 AM

Thanks BR. this year went by so fast, and i honestly believe some people from high school who were at the memorial service have forgotten already. i see everyone here will always remember, and thats great. its nice to know people who never even met him care enough to keep these threads alive, even after a year.

i'd hope all these posts are still here a year from now, its great knowing that i have a place to go where i can see people are still talking about J.B, and always will.

i'm looking foward to being part of the community now, i think after seeing all these posts and how everything i remember reading a year ago is still here, i can keep checking in.

i'll be around. thanks for keeping these threads alive guys.

Hi Taz-

Glad you are checking in. JB will always be a part of the family here and always fondly remembered. This could be a sad and lonely time for everyone who cared about him. If you want to talk, PM me.

Rob

UnknownGirl

April 5th, 2007, 02:47 AM

I honestly cant believe it's been a year since J.B died. It still feels like yesterday that old friends from high school gathered at St. Monica's to say goodbye.

I still miss him, and i know everyone who knew him feels the same way. its jut really hard to believe that some of us dont even talk to eachother anymore and its only been a year. its like everything went back to how it was before, which is sad.

and i honestly believe some people from high school who were at the memorial service have forgotten already. i see everyone here will always remember, and thats great. its nice to know people who never even met him care enough to keep these threads alive, even after a year.

i'd hope all these posts are still here a year from now, its great knowing that i have a place to go where i can see people are still talking about J.B, and always will.

I agree, Taz. I remember so clearly, at his funeral and afterwards, and even before that, when we first heard, we all said "This is our wake-up call. There's a silver linging here, and it's that we all are going to be better people, and better friends." That idea lasted a little while, and longer for the people who were closer to him, but after a little time, what happened is what you said: we all went back to the lives we had before, only with this big, JB-shaped chunk missing. Of all the promises I made to myself when JB died, to get out into the world more, to be a better friend, to keep in touch with people, etc., the only one I've kept is that whenever I want to give up on something that's hard for me, I think about how JB would have reacted (with sympathy, yes, but also with disgust, since it's usually something I should know better than to give up on!), and I throw myself back into it as best I can. And that's a good legacy, maybe, the image of JB as Jiminy Cricket, but I still wish I'd kept in better touch with all of our mutual friends, the way we all said we would.

I also agree about this forum: I admit I haven't had much contact with many of JB's friends in the last year, but it seems as if when I do, they rarely mention JB, whereas I do all the time: I talk about things he said, or things we did together, the same way I did when he was alive. It's nice, coming here, and seeing that people here still remember him and talk about him, the way you should talk about a friend you care about, whether they moved away, or whether they left this world for good.

Taz, I think it seems like we're going to get together again at the garden pretty soon. I hope you can join us. And if it helps you any...I haven't forgotten. I never will.

Taz

April 5th, 2007, 03:00 AM

why do i have a feeling i know who you are?

at the funeral everyone i used to be friends with back in the day, we all said we'd hang out. never happened. i only talk to a couple of people now, which i'm disgusted by. if this garden gathering happens, i need details. i've gotta put in for the day off 2 weeks in advance. i'd love to be there this time.

I agree, Taz. I remember so clearly, at his funeral and afterwards, and even before that, when we first heard, we all said "This is our wake-up call. There's a silver linging here, and it's that we all are going to be better people, and better friends." That idea lasted a little while, and longer for the people who were closer to him, but after a little time, what happened is what you said: we all went back to the lives we had before, only with this big, JB-shaped chunk missing.

Of all the promises I made to myself when JB died, to get out into the world more, to be a better friend, to keep in touch with people, etc., the only one I've kept is that whenever I want to give up on something that's hard for me, I think about how JB would have reacted (with sympathy, yes, but also with disgust, since it's usually something I should know better than to give up on!), and I throw myself back into it as best I can. And that's a good legacy, maybe, the image of JB as Jiminy Cricket, but I still wish I'd kept in better touch with all of our mutual friends, the way we all said we would.

Taz, I think it seems like we're going to get together again at the garden pretty soon. I hope you can join us.

ManhattanKnight

October 12th, 2007, 09:04 AM

The press accounts about JB's death didn't identify the homeless wheelchair user that he befriended just before he was killed, but I can't help thinking that that man was Donald Samuels, whose own death this week is the subject of this article in today's Times:

October 12, 2007

Panhandler in Wheelchair Is Killed in Harlem Traffic

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/9263/wheelchair600yu5.jpg
Corey Kilgannon/The New York Times
For years Donald Samuels, 44, was a familiar sight in the middle of East 125th Street, where he asked
drivers for spare change. He was struck and killed on Wednesday.

By COREY KILGANNON

For more than 10 years, Donald Samuels pushed his wheelchair along the double yellow line in the middle of East 125th Street in Harlem, wheeling up to cars and asking for spare change.

By all accounts, Mr. Samuels, who was missing most of his right leg, maneuvered with relative ease, or even abandon, in the middle of thick traffic, approaching cars that were stopped — or stopping — at red lights. He had been hit by vehicles several times over the years but never seriously injured. But on Wednesday, the police said, he was struck and killed on 125th Street while panhandling near Third Avenue. Mr. Samuels was 44.

Around 6 a.m. Wednesday, the police said, a white van heading west on 125th Street struck Mr. Samuels and propelled him into eastbound traffic, where he was struck by a black Lincoln Town Car. He was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital Center.

The Town Car driver remained at the scene, but the van did not stop, the police said. Charges are not likely to be filed against either of the drivers involved, the police said.

“I was on my way to work and I saw all these cop cars and a big crowd around a wheelchair in the street, and I immediately knew what happened,” said Frank Martinez, 37, who lives nearby. “We called him the human divider. One time he got dragged a full block and survived. To tell you the truth, I don’t know how he managed to keep working the middle of the street all these years.”

Mr. Samuels was a familiar sight in the neighborhood, though little was known about his past. Phil Musico and Marcia Biondo, lawyers who assist drivers with traffic summonses at the Department of Motor Vehicles traffic court on 125th Street near Third Avenue, recalled seeing him on the streets all the time.

“Everyone said it was bound to happen eventually,” Mr. Musico said. “I’ve seen him have a couple of near misses a few times.”

Ms. Biondo said she saw the aftermath of the accident. “The wheels from his chair were knocked across the street,” she said. “It looked bad.”

Mr. Samuels’s friends said that he was homeless. By noon yesterday, another man had taken Mr. Samuels’s regular spot in traffic, walking up to cars and soliciting money, holding a cardboard sign scrawled with these words: “Please Help the Homeless. God Bless.”

Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

lofter1

October 12th, 2007, 10:22 AM

Thanks for posting that ^^^

BrooklynRider

October 12th, 2007, 01:35 PM

Man, that is sad.

Zerlina

November 14th, 2007, 05:20 PM

Oh my God... it's horrible... :(:(:(:(

MidtownGuy

November 14th, 2007, 07:49 PM

Yes very sad. Imagine how hard his life was, and to end that way. Then when you consider he may be the one JB gave the money to, it's just really hard to take.

nyinvestordude

January 30th, 2008, 02:36 PM

Hi Taz-

Glad you are checking in. JB will always be a part of the family here and always fondly remembered. This could be a sad and lonely time for everyone who cared about him. If you want to talk, PM me.

Rob

I remember the day well and it was like family day. I still get a kick out of Maggie walkin around supervisin, calling us "Sugar" and "Puddin". Next time I'm up in those parts, I will take a picture and this summer I AM throwing a barbeque in Maggies Garden! Stay Tuned.

brianac

April 4th, 2008, 03:37 AM

I think the best way of remembering TLOZLink5, is through his posts to this forum.
This example of part of one of his posts shows how sensitive and forward thinking he was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Posted 30th December 2005

By. TLOZ Link5

I'm of Irish descent on my mother's side, and it really appals me that many Irish-Americans actually support the IRA. I feel as if many of them really don't have much of an idea as to the history of the Troubles, the intricacies of the peace process and everything that led up to it, and the very fact that most people just want peace. The minorities that the IRA and Ian Paisley claim as followers are very far and in between.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm sure he would be very happy at the way things have gone in Northern Ireland, since his passing.

Love, Light and Peace.

J. B. Hehman Rest in Peace.

brianac

April 6th, 2008, 03:53 AM

This is unbelievable. And so sad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~

Vehicle Kills Student, 24, as He Flees 2 Attackers

By RAY RIVERA (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/ray_rivera/index.html?inline=nyt-per) and JASON GRANT
Published: April 6, 2008

A Columbia University (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/columbia_university/index.html?inline=nyt-org) graduate student was hit and killed by a vehicle Friday night in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan while trying to escape an assault, the authorities said Saturday.

The student, Minghui Yu, 24, was on the median on Broadway between 122nd and 123rd Streets about 9 p.m. when a small group of young men drew near and one attacked him, the police said. Mr. Yu struggled and broke free and ran across one southbound lane before being struck by a Jeep Cherokee in the southbound lanes. Mr. Yu was taken to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/st_lukes-roosevelt_hospital_center/index.html?inline=nyt-org), where he was pronounced dead, the police said.

A law-enforcement official said Saturday night that a juvenile was in custody and was being questioned in the attack but had not been charged.

Detectives were trying to enhance video images taken from security cameras in the area to get a better description of the group, who the police said might be teenagers. At least one recording shows Mr. Yu struggling with the attacker.

The driver of the Cherokee and his wife, who was in the passenger seat, stopped at the scene and told the police that the victim had “darted out” and that they had not seen him. The driver was not charged.

Mr. Yu had been visiting his girlfriend’s apartment at 123rd and Broadway before he was attacked, the police said. His backpack, wallet and cellphone and cash were found with his body, the police said.

Lee C. Bollinger (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/lee_c_bollinger/index.html?inline=nyt-per), the president of Columbia University, sent an e-mail message to students and faculty on Saturday informing them of Mr. Yu’s death.

“As a community we mourn the loss of one our members, and especially of a young person with much to look forward to in a life of promise,” Mr. Bollinger wrote.

Mr. Yu, a native of China, was a Ph.D. candidate in statistics and a teaching fellow in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He was also the public relations chairman for the Columbia University Chinese Students and Scholars Association.

Zheyuan Chen, 21, a Ph.D. student in chemistry, said he knew Mr. Yu from their days together at the University of Science and Technology of China, where they received their undergraduate degrees. Mr. Chen said Mr. Yu studied physics there and was part of a program for gifted scholars.

“It’s hard to accept this fact, my best friend is gone,” Mr. Chen said.

Mr. Chen said Mr. Yu was well liked among Columbia’s Chinese students. “He was kind of like a leader,” Mr. Chen said.

Outside Mr. Yu’s apartment building on 121st Street, friends from the Chinese student association milled about. The friends placed bouquets of white flowers and lit two candles in front of large photo of Mr. Yu.

Among those who gathered at building was Chao Sun, who said she had been dating Mr. Yu for about eight months. “He’s a really nice guy, and he’s worried about others,” said Ms. Sun. “I can’t imagine he would do anything to harm other people.”

Jian Zhang, the president of the Chinese student association, said he had spoken with the Chinese consul general’s office and was told that Mr. Yu’s parents had been contacted in China and would be coming to New York in the next few days.

Some students in the area expressed concerns about the safety of the neighborhood. In April 2006, Broderick J. Hehman, a New York University (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/new_york_university/index.html?inline=nyt-org) student, was killed at 125th Street and Park Avenue when he was hit by a Mercedes-Benz while trying to flee a group of attackers. At least four teenagers were arrested in connection with his death.

“This area is very dangerous,” said Hyun Kim, a Columbia graduate student who lives a few blocks from Mr. Yu. Ms. Kim, a native of Korea, said she and her husband and 5-year-old daughter try not to go out at night out of fear for their safety.

“It could happen to anyone living in this area,” she said, referring to what happened to Mr. Yu.

Christine Hauser contributed reporting.

Copyright 2008 The New York Times.