By WBFO news
Buffalo, NY – A State Supreme Court Justice has convicted 20-year old Willie G. Cook Jr. of first-degree manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of an 18-year-old Niagara County Community College freshman last fall in Buffalo.
Alfred Lucas Jr., a Buffalo high school graduate, was fatally stabbed at West Chippewa Street and South Elmwood Avenue about 4:30 a.m. on Oct. 31. A fight between Cook and Lucas' friends occurred in the Chippewa district downtown a short time before the stabbing.
Cook, of 14th Street, stabbed Lucas three times. Justice Christopher J. Burns acquitted Cook of a second-degree murder charge following a three-day non-jury trial.
The judge said he found no evidence that Cook had intentionally killed Lucas.
Cook faces a maximum 25-year prison term. Homicide Prosecutor Colleen Curtin Gable said she will recommend the maximum sentence. Cook remains in jail until the sentencing on July 26.
Cook's attorney,Andrew C. LoTempio, said they will appeal the conviction.