A 29-year-old Poughkeepsie man was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in state prison after he "caused the death of a Newburgh man" in January, according to Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler.

Steven Williams plead guilty to second-degree manslaughter and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in relation to the City of Newburgh incident, in which 40-year-old Jermaine Cooper was killed on April 30. Hoovler announced the sentencing in a Facebook post.

Orange County Court Judge William L. DeProspo sentenced Williams on Monday to serve 7½ to 15 years in prison for the manslaughter charge and a concurrent sentence of 12 years in prison for the weapons charge. He was also sentenced to five years of post-release supervision.

The day he plead guilty, Hoovler said Williams admitted he was in a car with three other men that drove in the area of Hasbrouck and Williams streets in the City of Newburgh on Jan. 25. Williams also admitted that he "caused the death of a Newburgh man by recklessly shooting a gun toward the sidewalk," Hoovler said.

One the bullets struck Cooper and killed him. Hoovler said another man, Donnell Johnson, drove the car "at excessive speeds" in a police chase with a Town of Newburgh cop until the car collided with a tree in the City of Poughkeepsie.

Donnell Johnson also plead guilty to first-degree reckless endangerment, and Tysheed McPhee plead guilty to attempted tampering with physical evidence. A fourth man, Kyreem Selman, who was allegedly also in the vehicle, was also charged. All three are from Poughkeepsie.

Johnson has admitted he drove at excessive speeds, swerved between lanes and drove on the shoulder of the highway to avoid a Town of Newburgh police officer, Hoovler said. McPhee admitted he threw the gun out the car window as they were fleeing the scene, Hoovler said.

Chief Trial Assistant District Attorney John Geidel prosecuted the case.

Hoovler said the community is "safer" as Williams spends more than a decade in prison.

"Gun violence in the City of Newburgh must stop and those who commit it must be brought to justice," he said. "Through the heroic efforts and quick thinking of one Town of Newburgh police officer, we were able to catch the perpetrator of this homicide. My Office will continue our efforts to prevent gun violence where we can, and, when we can’t, to vigorously prosecute those who commit it."

Ryan Santistevan: rsantistev@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4809; Twitter: @NewsByRyan_

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