An Ontario County jury has convicted 57-year-old Geneva resident Corwin Coleman of first-degree assault, finding that he repeatedly stabbed a woman with a knife at a Town of Geneva apartment complex in February. The attack left the victim with wounds to her upper chest, shoulder and neck, and prosecutors say she will carry both physical and emotional scars for the rest of her life.
According to Fingerlakes1.com, the jury returned its guilty verdict Monday following a trial in Ontario County Court. The stabbing happened Feb. 28 at an apartment complex in the Town of Geneva, and the attack was severe enough that the victim needed to be rushed to intensive care. Fingerlakesdailynews.com reports Finger Lakes Ambulance transported her to the University of Rochester Medical Center, where she received life-saving treatment.
First-degree assault is classified as a class B violent felony under New York law, according to the New York State Senate's penal code. The same code sets the determinate sentencing range for a class B violent felony at a minimum of five years and a maximum of 25 years, subject to statutory qualifications, per a separate section of the New York State Senate's statutes.
A Repeat Offender Already on Parole
Coleman was on parole at the time of the attack and had a previous violent felony conviction, the Fingerlakesdailynews.com report states. Prosecutors described him as a repeat violent felony offender, a characterization echoed by WHEC's coverage of the verdict. That status matters for sentencing exposure: under a separate penal law section, when a court finds someone to be a persistent felony offender and determines that extended incarceration and lifetime supervision would serve the public interest, it may impose the sentence authorized for a class A-I felony rather than the one otherwise tied to the underlying charge.
That is how Coleman now faces a possible sentence of 25 years to life in prison, per the district attorney's office. District Attorney Jason MacBride and Assistant District Attorney Michael Lang prosecuted the case before Ontario County Court Judge Stefanie Barnes, who presided over the trial. Reports differ on the exact sentencing date: Fingerlakesdailynews.com states Coleman is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 8, while WHEC reports the sentencing is set for Dec. 28, both in Ontario County Court.
Victim Fortunate to Survive, Prosecutor Says
MacBride said the victim was fortunate to survive the attack but will suffer from physical and emotional scarring for the rest of her life, a sentiment also captured by 13WHAM's reporting on the case. The prosecutor also recognized the agencies involved in building the case, including the Ontario County Sheriff's Office, which investigated alongside the Geneva Police Department and New York State Police, both of which cooperated with the investigation.
MacBride singled out Deputy Collin McGuigan, who was first on the scene, for helping ensure the victim received critical medical care and for assisting in Coleman's apprehension. The coordinated response between county, local and state law enforcement helped move the case from the scene of the February stabbing to Monday's conviction inside Ontario County Court.
