A 20-year-old Derby man was sentenced to six years in prison Monday for stabbing two men in separate incidents on Hawkins Street in 2010.
Remarking on defendant Stephan Coney’s age, Judge Richard Arnold said there is still time for Coney to turn things around — or not.
“When you finish this sentence, you have the opportunity to turn your life around. If not, we’ll still be here,” Judge Arnold said.
Coney’s violent spree in Derby began May 19 when he stabbed a man behind a residence on Hawkins Street. Coney told police he thought the man was about to jump him.
The man, bleeding, was able to walk down Hawkins Street to Mr. D’s, a convenience store, to get help.
The victim, who told police he was a gang member, didn’t cooperate with police immediately after being stabbed — despite the fact surgeons at Yale-New Haven Hospital had to cut a 10-inch incision down his abdomen to repair his punctured intestines.
Seven weeks later Coney chased another man down Hawkins Street, stabbing him with a knife near the Over the Hill Tavern. The victim survived, but suffered a punctured lung.
Coney told police the violence started because he insulted a woman who may have been connected to the “Purple City Goons,” a teen street gang in Derby, according to court documents.
The victims, however, said Coney targeted them because one of them insulted Coney’s aunt.
Prosecutors believe the first stabbing victim wasn’t the intended target — he just got in the way. The intended target in that first stabbing was the man Coney stabbed in the second incident.
Judge Arnold, who said Coney appeared to have “no respect for anyone or anything,” acknowledged that Coney’s upbringing was less than ideal. He had spent time in several foster homes and in the care of the state Department of Children and Families.
The judge said the only person who can keep Coney from entering the criminal “hall of fame” is Coney, the judge said.
“I’ll impose the sentence and let you think about it for approximately six years,” Judge Arnold said.
The stabbings last year came during a series of incidents in the Hawkins and Sixth Street areas.
Prosecutor Charles Stango said authorities had a heck of a time getting any witnesses to cooperate in the Derby investigations — an increasingly common obstacle.
“It’s unfortunate that cases like this are becoming more prevalent,” he said.
The sentence handed down by Judge Arnold was a plea bargain worked out between Coney and prosecutors.
The state was ready to subpoena one of the victims in order to force him to testify, Stango said.
Even without victim cooperation, “this office will continue to prosecute these cases,” he said.
Coney will be on probation for five years once he is released from prison.
