Cinque Lee. Photo from Chicago Police.
A man convicted of fatally shooting CPS basketball star Michael Haynes in 2012 was sentenced to 14 years in prison Thursday.
Haynes was days away from moving to New York to play Division 1 college ball when he was killed July 26, 2012, trying to break up a fight over a stolen necklace, his family previously told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Cinque Lee, 22, was convicted of second-degree murder in Haynes’ death in August, and was sentenced Thursday to 14 years in prison by Judge James B. Linn, court records show.
At a 2012 bond hearing for Lee, prosecutors said Lee, Haynes and all the witnesses in the case were longtime friends.
As their friends argued over the necklace earlier in the day, Lee offered one of those sparring a gun. Later that evening, the 22-year-old Haynes told Lee he was wrong to take out a gun since they were all friends.
Haynes ended up punching Lee, which prompted him to shoot Haynes four to five times, prosecutors said.
Haynes died a little more than an hour after being shot in the wrist, chest and lower back around 5:10 p.m., officials said.
Haynes’ basketball career involved multiple high schools and colleges. In May 2012, he committed to Iona College in New York and it looked like his dream of playing Division I was finally coming true.
As a freshman in high school, he averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds at Corliss High School. In his sophomore year, he teamed with Deandre Liggins at Washington and led the Minutemen to the city championship game at the United Center, where they lost to Simeon and Derrick Rose.
Lee, of the 11600 block of South Vincennes, will receive credit for 835 days spent in jail since his arrest, court records show.
