ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — On Wednesday, Darius Cokely, 23, of Albany, was sentenced to 25 years to life for the murder of Maurice Skeen on or about March 18, 2020. The indictment alleged that Cokely had stabbed Skeen in the chest in the area of 550 Madison Avenue.

“In many cases, Mr. Cokely, I would be looking at your young age, and the fact that you have no prior convictions, and that would surely be considered when handing down a sentence,” said Judge Andra Ackerman in Albany County Court. “But 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?”