2 arrested in shooting death of Hempstead man, Nassau cops say

Two brothers have been arrested in connection with the March killing of a Hempstead man outside a Valley Stream bar — a slaying tied to a beef over money in which one brother was the triggerman and the other drove the getaway car, Nassau police said Monday.

Mickey Corley, 37, of Yale Avenue in Lakeview, was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Shaleek Jenkins, 35, at 4:05 a.m. March 13 outside Sonny O’s, a bar at 269 West Merrick Rd., Nassau County police said.

Jenkins was transported to Long Island Jewish Hospital in Valley Stream where he was pronounced dead at 5:10 a.m., police said.

Christopher Corley, 40, of Gail Drive in Nyack, Rockland County, was charged with hindering prosecution, police said.

Both Corley brothers were taken into custody without incident Sunday in Nyack, police said.

The motive for the slaying appears to be an argument over the theft of a large sum of cash — proceeds from a card game in a Baldwin barbershop about a week before the shooting, said Det. Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick, commanding officer of the Nassau police Homicide Squad. The brothers accused Jenkins and his friends of having prior knowledge of the heist and the two factions argued, Fitzpatrick said.

On the night of the shooting, Fitzpatrick said, the Corley brothers saw Jenkins outside after they left the bar.

“The victim and the brother Mickey got into a physical altercation and during that physical altercation Mickey pulled out a handgun and shot Shaleek,” Fitzpatrick said.

According to court documents, Mickey Corley fired “multiple gunshots” from a 9 mm handgun, striking Jenkins in the chest and neck. Christopher Corley was present during the killing, the court documents said, and “did render assistance to the shooter by driving him away from the scene with the intent to prevent his apprehension.”

Both men entered not-guilty pleas at their arraignments Monday in First District Court in Hempstead.

District Court Judge William Hohauser ordered Mickey Corley held without bail during his arraignment, according to district attorney spokeswoman Miriam Sholder.

Christopher Corley was held on $75,000 bond or cash bail with an additional $2,000 bond or $1,000 cash on a misdemeanor arrest warrant, Sholder said.

His defense attorney, Steven Gaitman of Hempstead, said Christopher Corley is a homeowner in Rockland, where he lives with his family and owns a trucking company.

“He denies the charges at this time,” Gaitman said.

An attorney for Mickey Corley could not be reached.

Jenkins’ family members did not respond to messages seeking comment.

The brothers are due back in court Thursday.

With William Murphy

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.