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Darius Cokely, age 23, of Albany, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in Albany County Court on Wednesday, Feb. 1. It followed his jury conviction for second-degree murder in the killing of Maurice Skeen.
Prosecutors said Cokely and Skeen got into a fight on March 18, 2020 near Madison and New Scotland avenues in Albany, south of Washington Park.
The altercation was sparked by comments that Skeen’s cousin had allegedly made on Facebook, the Albany Times Union reports.
A street brawl ensued and Cokely stabbed Skeen in the heart, killing him.
“We all saw the video,” Albany County Judge Andra Ackerman said to Cokely during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing. “You took all of your hate out on him.”
Ackerman said she would typically consider a defendant’s young age and lack of criminal convictions when deciding on a sentence, but not in this case.
“When I look at those factors, Mr. Cokely, I think, how does that mitigate going to another young man’s home, telling him you’re going to kill him, then following through with a calculated stab to the heart, taking that young man out of this world forever?”
Skeen’s aunt, Kim Fortune, also addressed Cokely in court.
“You decided to take another brother’s life. So you are now considered a young black brother who killed another young black brother,” she told him. “Another stain, another blow in the Black community.”
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