Chinx’s killer, Quincy Homere, has been sentenced to 23 years behind bars for the 2015 murder of the rising rapper.
Homere, one of two men charged with the murder, pleaded guilty in July. Chinx’s heartbroken widow, Janelli Caceres-Pickens, was in court as Homere was sentenced on Monday (August 13).
While addressing the court, Caceres-Pickens became emotional, reflecting on the tragic loss.
“I was told I had two minutes to say goodbye, holding his mother’s hand, watching his lifeless body praying and crying for him to wake up,” she said. “A mother has to bury her son. At the age of 28 I had become a widow. My children, who were 15, 11 and 4, are now without a dad.”
Chinx was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2015. Homere and Jamar Hill were arrested and charged with second-degree murder and other associated charges in 2017. While Homere initially pleaded not guilty, he subsequently accepted a plea deal. Hill’s case is still pending.
“Quincy Homere was sentenced today to 23 years in prison for killing Lionel Pickens Jr., a successful rapper, husband, and father who was mercilessly gunned down in 2015,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. “Homere fired numerous rounds into Pickens’ car while he was stopped at a red light in Briarwood and then fled, leaving the young man for dead. Nothing can undo what happened, but I hope today’s sentence brings some solace to Pickens’ loved ones as they continue to grieve.”