Rockland jury reaches verdict in Spring Valley teen shooting
A Rockland County jury reached a verdict on Oct. 29, finding Anthony Mitchell guilty of second-degree murder and attempted murder for the July 2022 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Treynahel Cineus in a Spring Valley parking lot. Jurors acquitted him of weapons possession charges. The case closed a more than four-year wait for the teen's family after the parking-lot attack.
Key Takeaways
- Anthony Mitchell, 27, of Haverstraw was convicted of second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder on Oct. 29, 2026.
- Treynahel Cineus, 17, was shot while parking with his aunt at Meadowlanes apartments in Spring Valley on July 8, 2022.
- The jury acquitted Mitchell of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon counts.
- He faces 15 years to life up to 25 years to life; sentencing is set for Dec. 23.
- District Attorney Thomas Walsh said he hopes the verdict brings the family some measure of justice and peace.
What did the Rockland jury decide in the Spring Valley shooting?
After a three-week trial before Rockland County Court Judge Kevin Russo, jurors found Mitchell guilty of killing Cineus and attempting to kill his aunt, Rose Cineus. They cleared him of two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, according to reporting from Daily Voice and News 12.
Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II announced the outcome and framed it as accountability for a senseless act of gun violence. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 23, when Mitchell faces a minimum of 15 years to life and a maximum of 25 years to life in prison.
How did the fatal shooting unfold in July 2022?
Prosecutors say the shooting happened about 2:30 a.m. on Friday, July 8, 2022, as Treynahel and Rose Cineus parked at the Meadowlanes apartment complex at 150 West Eckerson Road in Spring Valley. Mitchell, working with others, fired handguns toward the two as they parked, prosecutors said.
Treynahel was struck by gunfire; his aunt survived. Spring Valley police and Hatzolah EMS rushed to the scene and tried to save him. He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he died from his injuries. Mitchell, then 23, was arrested on July 21, 2022, nearly two weeks later.
Why does this verdict matter for the Cineus family?
More than four years after the killing, the conviction answers the central question of criminal responsibility in court. Walsh said a 17-year-old boy's life was stolen in a senseless act of gun violence, leaving a family to endure a loss that no verdict can ever undo.
"While nothing can bring Treynahel back to his family, I hope this verdict provides them with some measure of justice and peace," Walsh said. Coverage of similar cases appears in our True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries hub.
Separately, while awaiting trial earlier this year, Mitchell was sentenced to 11 years in prison for enticement and coercion of a minor, prosecutors said, after he manipulated a girl into sending sexually explicit photographs when she was 13 and 14 years old.