Peekskill Man Indicted for Murder in Shooting at Yonkers Bar

Video here: https://youtu.be/J9HCB23YL-4

Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced that Peekskill resident Yaquba McGougain was indicted on charges in connection with a shooting that killed one and injured another at a Yonkers bar in February.  

McGougain, 29, was indicted by a Westchester County Grand Jury for Murder in the Second Degree, Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Assault in the First Degree, and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, all violent felonies. The defendant was arraigned on March 21, 2022, and is being held without bail.  

McGougain is charged with fatally shooting 22-year-old New Jersey resident Antonio Antoine-Fils at a bar on Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, on February 6, 2022, at approximately 2:08 a.m. The victim was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Yonkers, where he was pronounced dead. A second victim, who McGougain is also charged with shooting and injuring, was transported to Jacobi Hospital where he was treated for his injuries.  

The Yonkers Police Department investigated the incident and arrested McGougain within 72 hours.

Detectives from the Major Case Squad and Crime Scene Unit responded to the scene and interviewed subjects and witnesses, recovered surveillance video, and processed forensic and ballistic evidence. Investigation has yielded that the bar was hosting a party on the second floor that resulted in several fights amongst the patrons. Bar management stopped the party and was ushering the attendees outside, some of whom were intoxicated and disorderly. Investigators allege that one of the attendees went to a parked vehicle and retrieved a handgun, and then proceeded to the front of the bar and fired at least three gunshots into the vestibule of the building, striking two employees: a bouncer and a busser. Both the employees were engaged in moving the party crowd outside.

The bouncer, a 23-year-old resident of the Bronx, New York City, was struck one time in the stomach and was treated and released. The busser, Antonio Antoine-Fils a 22-year-old resident of Montvale, New Jersey, was struck twice, once in the torso and once in the hand, and died from his injuries.

The case was arraigned before Judge Anne Minihan in Westchester County Court, and is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Nicholas DiCostanzo and Adrian Murphy.  

The charges against the defendant are merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.