By: Richard L. Smith
Two Newark residents will spend the next five decades in prison for their roles in the 2023 vigilante-style shooting that left a 17-year-old dead and another man wounded, authorities announced.
Theodore N. Stephens II confirmed that the lengthy prison terms stem from the fatal shooting of Newark teen Kiman Mays.
The sentences were imposed by Arthur Batista, J.S.C., who presided over both the trial and the sentencing proceedings.
On June 25, 2025, 51-year-old Felicia Bynum and 33-year-old James Headen, both of Newark, were convicted of first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, and second-degree weapons offenses.
Prosecutors established that on August 17, 2023, the defendants opened fire on a stolen white 2022 Lexus SUV that had been involved in a robbery spree, a crash, and a shootout in Newark.
Surveillance footage presented during trial showed that Bynum and Headen pursued the SUV through the city’s South Ward after witnessing the occupants commit multiple robberies.
During the gunfire, 17-year-old Kiman Mays of Newark was fatally shot. The driver of the vehicle, 29-year-old Lonnell Carruthers of Irvington, sustained injuries but survived.
Headen was sentenced to 40 years for the murder of Mays, to run consecutive to a 10-year sentence for the shooting of Carruthers, totaling 50 years.
Bynum received the identical sentence — 40 years for murder, consecutive to 10 years for the shooting — also totaling 50 years behind bars.
In a statement, Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab said, “While nothing can bring back the life that was taken, we hope these 50-year sentences bring some measure of comfort to the family. We also hope these lengthy sentences send a clear message that vigilante justice will not be tolerated and will be met with serious consequences.”
The case underscores authorities’ firm stance against individuals taking the law into their own hands, even when crimes are witnessed firsthand.