The Alvin Foy III murder case ended in July 2023 with a 25-years-to-life sentence for the 2021 shooting death of 18-year-old Chyna Forney, an Albany high school senior killed by a stray bullet on Essex Street. Foy, then of Albany, New York, was convicted of second-degree murder, attempted murder, and weapons charges after a jury trial, and was removed from the courtroom at sentencing for laughing during the victim’s sister’s impact statement.
The Essex Street Shooting
Just before 3:00 p.m. on May 3, 2021, Foy and co-defendant Jahmere Manning opened fire on Essex Street near Rawson Street in Albany. Prosecutors said the two had argued with another man, left, and came back with guns to shoot at him.1Times Union. Judge Sentences Albany Man in Death of Albany Teen Investigators recovered more than 40 spent shell casings, and parked cars were hit.2CBS 6 Albany. Alvin Foy Sentenced in Albany County
Chyna Forney was not the intended target. She was found in the road with a gunshot wound to her back and was pronounced dead at Albany Medical Center.3Times Union. Bullet That Killed Chyna Forney Intended for Someone Else Manning later admitted in court that he and Foy fired 31 shots toward a group of people that day; two other teenagers were also wounded.4Times Union. Man Who Killed Chyna Forney Is Sentenced to 20 Years to Life
Who Chyna Forney Was
Chyna Unique Forney was 18, born January 11, 2003. She was a senior at the Albany Leadership Charter High School for Girls, weeks from graduating, and had planned to study nursing in college and keep running track.5News10. Defendant in Chyna Forney Murder Case Sentenced6News10. Victory Church Offers $10K Reward for Info After Teen Shot and Killed She worked as a manager at a local McDonald’s and captained a step team and a dance team.7S.L. McLaughlin Funeral Home. Obituary for Chyna Forney Her sister, Naziray Forney, later told the court that Foy had grown up around their family and had “broke bread” with them.1Times Union. Judge Sentences Albany Man in Death of Albany Teen
Charges and Conviction
Foy was 18 when Albany police arrested him. He was arraigned May 13, 2021, pleaded not guilty, and was held without bail.8NY1. Albany Police Make Arrest in Essex Street Homicide An Albany County grand jury indicted him on two counts of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.9News10. Indictment Handed Up in Albany Murder Case
In April 2023, a jury convicted him of second-degree murder, attempted murder, and the weapons counts. Defense attorney Jasper Mills argued Foy was not at the scene, telling the court that seven witnesses had testified to his absence, and disputed the prosecution’s description of a street “riddled with bullets,” saying only one bullet struck a nearby residence. The jury rejected that account.1Times Union. Judge Sentences Albany Man in Death of Albany Teen
The Sentencing Hearing and Removal From Court
At sentencing on July 14, 2023, before Acting State Supreme Court Justice Roger D. McDonough, Foy was observed laughing as Naziray Forney read her victim impact statement. Judge McDonough put the laughter on the record and told Foy that “any human being with a shred of decency wouldn’t laugh in these circumstances.”1Times Union. Judge Sentences Albany Man in Death of Albany Teen
When Foy addressed the court, he repeatedly proclaimed his innocence and interrupted the judge. McDonough warned him three times that further disruption would result in removal and sentencing in absentia.10WNYT. Albany Teen’s Convicted Killer Kicked Out of Court at Sentencing After Foy again insisted he had been “wrongly convicted,” the judge had court officers take him to a holding cell. Mills later characterized the laughter as “utter disbelief” at the conviction, and Foy’s father offered the same explanation.1Times Union. Judge Sentences Albany Man in Death of Albany Teen
With Foy out of the room, McDonough imposed the maximum: 25 years to life in state prison. The judge described the shooting as driven by “phony toughness” and called the case “a sad reflection of where we are as a society.”1Times Union. Judge Sentences Albany Man in Death of Albany Teen
Co-Defendant Jahmere Manning
Manning, 20, was the second gunman. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on October 21, 2022, resolving both his indictment in the Forney case and a separate open weapons case from February 2021.11Times Union. Guilt Admitted in Chyna Forney Murder On December 9, 2022, Judge McDonough sentenced him to 20 years to life. Manning told the court he was sorry and wished he “could take the day back”; the judge called the apology “meaningless.”12WNYT. Man Gets 20 Years to Life for Albany Shooting That Killed Teen Chief Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Fowler said the plea “affords him the decency and humanity that he refused to show countless victims.”4Times Union. Man Who Killed Chyna Forney Is Sentenced to 20 Years to Life
The Appeal
Mills said after sentencing that there was “no evidence placing my client at the scene” and confirmed plans to appeal.1Times Union. Judge Sentences Albany Man in Death of Albany Teen On July 31, 2025, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, Third Judicial Department, granted Foy’s application to waive costs and fees on appeal and ordered the appeal perfected by the appendix method, with a deadline of November 28, 2025.13NY Courts. People v. Alvin Foy, 2025 NY Slip Op 73773(U) As of mid-2026, the appeal remains pending, and Foy continues to serve his 25-years-to-life sentence.