Mike Nolan family: Killers are 'cowards,' 'punks'

WHITE PLAINS - The hardest part for Donna Nolan was seeing Tejmitra Singh kiss his mother.

Singh was one of three defendants who pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to their roles in the fatal shooting of Nolan's son, Michael, last fall. Singh embraced family members prior to his guilty plea, then told them, “I love all y’all,” as he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.

“I don’t get to kiss my son. I don’t get to hold him. I don’t get to talk to him. Nothing,” Donna Nolan said, overcome with emotion outside the Westchester County Courthouse. “They took that from me because of their cowardly, punk actions.”

Singh, Darren Dawson and Nashaun Hunter — all from the Bronx — admitted Wednesday to their roles in the fatal shooting.

GUILTY: Mike Nolan shooter Nashaun Hunter pleads guilty

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Hunter, 17, who fired the fatal shots from the back seat of a car, will spend up to 25 years in state prison after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter.

Sherman Jackson, Hunter’s attorney, said he is hopeful Hunter — who will turn 18 on Friday — can start a life for himself when he’s released.

Dawson and Singh, who were both passengers in the vehicle, each pleaded guilty to first-degree assault. Dawson, 19, is expected to be sentenced to nine years in prison; Singh, 23, is expected to be sentenced to 11 years in prison.

All three are scheduled for formal sentencing on Oct. 12.

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COVERAGE: Nolan family 'went through hell'

Mike Nolan was a Saunders High School graduate who went on to become a Major League Baseball prospect in the Oakland Athletics’ organization.

His parents and brothers were accompanied by a slew of family and friends in the courtroom Wednesday, many wearing baseball paraphernalia in his honor.

Jimmy Nolan, Mike’s father, held a picture of his son and rested an A’s hat on his leg throughout the proceedings. Donna Nolan broke down in tears after Dawson, the first of the suspects to plead guilty, admitted to the events that led to her son’s death. Mike’s older brother, Jim, was in tears seconds later.

“Just to hear them actually say, ‘Yeah, we’re responsible for Michael Nolan being dead,’ it was hard. It was really hard,” Donna Nolan said later. “They’re going to go where they belong and they will never have the chance to destroy another family.”

The family’s emotions turned to disgust when Hunter, the shooter, entered his plea.

Sherman Jackson, Hunter’s attorney, said Nolan was targeted when he was shot outside of the Burger King on Central Avenue the night of Sept. 18, 2015, but that the intent was to scare the 23-year-old, not kill him.

“It’s a .25 (caliber gun), which is about smaller than my hand, from a moving vehicle at night,” Jackson said outside of the courthouse. “One fatal shot to the head, but most of the shots missed (Nolan).”

Jimmy Nolan adamantly refuted the assertion that Hunter was not aiming to hit his son.

“That is a total lie,” Jimmy Nolan said, wearing Mike Nolan's No. 23 Yonkers uniform outside of the courthouse. “I’ll tell you one thing — Mike was a good kid."

Garth O’Neil Cole, 22, the fourth and final suspect in the shooting, gave a statement to police about what happened. He is also charged with first-degree assault and due in court on Aug. 3.

DOCUMENT: Cole's statement to police (Some readers may find language in this document offensive)

Donna Nolan said her family would never be satisfied with any prison sentences in the case because “I’ll never have my son back.”

“I guess that maybe now from here we can move on with the next chapter in our lives and that’s to try and figure out how we go on each day without Mike, and that’s been the hardest thing,” she said.

Twitter: @Zacchio_LoHud