Each defendant was sentenced to to a year in jail, and had pleaded guilty in January to a felony charge of second-degree gang assault and a misdemeanor assault charge.  Credit: James Carbone

Khaseen Morris’ cousin said her family had lived “two years, six months, three weeks and six days” of heartache since the Oceanside High School senior’s deadly stabbing as she delivered a message Tuesday to three young people who took part in the after-school brawl.

“You set out for your prey like animals. Not one of you thought ‘This isn’t right. Let’s not go.’ Not one of you thought ‘What if?’” Tyisha Wilson, 36, said at the trio’s Nassau County Court sentencing.

“That day, you followed your friend,” she added, speaking of Khaseen’s alleged killer, Tyler Flach. “… If only one of you had took a stand and said, ‘This isn’t right.’”

Nassau Supervising Judge Teresa Corrigan then sentenced defendants Marquis Stephens Jr., 20, Sean Merritt, 20, and Javonte Neals, 21, to a year in jail. Each had pleaded guilty in January to a felony charge of second-degree gang assault and a misdemeanor assault charge.

The judge also granted them youthful offender status, which prosecutors opposed but probation officials recommended. It means the trio’s convictions in the case will be sealed as confidential records that are only available to authorities in narrow circumstances.

One of the victim’s sisters was critical of the sentences after court, as her cousin had been during the Mineola proceeding.

“Them getting a year is a smack in my face … this is not my definition of justice,” Keyanna Morris, 32, told Newsday.

But she vowed her family would stay strong and continue coming to court “every step of the way.”

The judge told the Morris family that as a mother herself, there was “no punishment sufficient for anyone who would hurt my child.”

But Corrigan added Tuesday that as a judge she had “to balance actions and punishments even when as a mother I feel that it doesn’t seem right and it doesn’t seem fair.”

Khaseen was the youngest of four siblings. The avid skateboarder, who also had a talent for drawing and writing music, died the month before he would have turned 17.

Flach, now 21, is jailed while awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, first-degree gang assault, misdemeanor assault and a weapon offense.

Law enforcement officials have alleged the Lido Beach resident stabbed Morris, 16, once in the heart after Flach and a group of his friends charged at Morris and his friends after the groups met for a confrontation.

Cases also remain pending against four others from Long Beach who allegedly were with Flach that day: Haakim Mechan, 21; Taj Woodruff, 19; and two defendants who were 16 at the time of their arrests. Those four previously pleaded not guilty to second-degree gang assault and misdemeanor assault.

The fatal encounter unfolded at about 3:45 p.m. on Sept. 16, 2019, in a Brower Avenue strip mall lot in Oceanside. It also left a 17-year-old friend of Khaseen’s with a broken arm and head injury.

Police said Khaseen went to the location knowing the ex-boyfriend of a girl he had befriended wanted to confront him. Khaseen’s family has said he texted the ex-boyfriend to say he wasn’t dating the girl but had walked her home from a party.

The case captured national attention after Nassau police initially said 50 to 70 young people watched the fight and dozens used smartphones to record Khaseen being attacked and bleeding on the sidewalk, instead of helping him, before posting the video on social media. But in a reversal, police said later that only about 20 kids watched the deadly fight and as few as two recorded it.

Stephens’ attorney, William Kephart, said Tuesday that his client had been remorseful from the beginning and took responsibility for his role in the brawl by his plea.

Merritt’s attorney, Dennis Lemke, said it would stay with his client that while he'd be able to move on with his life after jail, Khaseen's life had ended.

Neals’ attorney, Lawrence Carrà, said his client never foresaw that what happened would end someone's life.

Then his client, the only defendant who spoke Tuesday, offered an apology to Khaseen's family.

"I am truly sorry for everything that happened," Neals said.

Then he surrendered to court officers who, as they had with his co-defendants, handcuffed him and led him away.

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