Mount Vernon man facing retrial in killing sentenced to maximum for weapon possession
A Mount Vernon man awaiting a retrial in the fatal stabbing of his sister’s ex-boyfriend was given a maximum sentence for having the knife he used during the street fight.
Naughton killed Chinyelu Browne on Aug. 27, 2021, on East Third Street and was charged with first-degree manslaughter. He claimed self-defense, insisting he had only stopped his city water department truck to get a drink at a deli when Browne approached him with a knife.
Naughton was sent to prison for 2⅓ to 7 years by acting state Supreme Court Justice Robert Neary, who rejected Naughton's bid to remain free with his family pending the new trial. Both the judge and the prosecutor cited Browne's death as justification for the maximum prison term even as the homicide charge remains unresolved.
"It's unfortunate that the situation went the way it did. I'm here for a knife, not manslaughter right now. I didn't know the knife was illegal, it's legal," Naughton told the judge Nov. 18, according to a transcript of the sentencing. "I just hope you can find it in your heart to let me continue to be with my family that depends on me."
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Video showed Naughton pull his own knife from his pocket, one he claimed to regularly use for work, and the two men circling each other in the middle of the street. Browne landed the first blow, a slash across Naughton's face. But he lost his knife in the process and ran off, with Naughton catching up to him on the sidewalk and swinging at him several times with the hand that held the knife.
Browne, stabbed in the chest, left on a scooter but crashed around the corner and died a short time later at Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital.
Days earlier, Browne had posted an expletive-laced video about Naughton's sister and other relatives but Naughton insisted he wasn't overly bothered by it and had not gone after Browne as a result of it.
At Naughton's trial in August, he was convicted of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. But jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict on the manslaughter charge, with all but one favoring conviction.
Neary declared a mistrial and allowed Naughton to be free on bail pending the retrial.
At his sentencing, Naughton's new lawyer, Lane Blessum, suggested sentencing Naughton before the retrial was a "gross injustice."
Neary defended the decision to sentence Naughton, citing the jury's 11-1 vote as a reason the defendant might not show up for a retrial.
A partner in Blessum's firm, Robert Tsigler, declined to comment on the case last week.
Assistant District Attorney Brian Bendish conceded during the trial Naughton may have regularly carried the knife for work. But he argued once Naughton took it out of his pocket that afternoon and walked towards Browne he intended to use it unlawfully.
Naughton, who turned 45 the day after he was sentenced, was still at the Westchester County jail Monday awaiting transfer to a state prison. Jury selection for his new trial is scheduled for Jan. 9. If convicted, he would face between 5 and 25 years in prison.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Mount Vernon's Carlton Naughton sentenced to maximum for knife
