Man who stabbed Wyandanch roommate gets 15 years

A man who admitted stabbing his roommate to death at a Wyandanch boardinghouse was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison.

Ras Amadi Davis, 22, of Atlanta, apologized to the family of Jodel Damus, 26, before he was sentenced by State Supreme Court Justice Robert W. Doyle in Suffolk County Court. "I'm sincerely sorry for what I've done," he said.

Davis pleaded guilty Aug. 2 to first-degree manslaughter for stabbing Damus on Aug. 23, 2009, while Damus slept in the room they shared. Prosecutors said Davis stabbed Damus seven times with a knife Davis had stolen from the supermarket where he worked, and then fled to Georgia.

After Davis pleaded guilty, he wrote a letter to the judge, expressing what Eric Naiburg, his attorney, described Wednesday in court as "some dissatisfaction" with Naiburg's handling of the case. The letter was discussed in court Wednesday and entered into the record of the case to show that Davis' concerns had been aired publicly.

Naiburg, of Central Islip, said Davis agreed to go through with the sentencing after Naiburg showed him statements from nine witnesses, all of whom implicated Davis in Damus' slaying.

After seeing those statements, Naiburg said, Davis withdrew his complaints about his legal representation. "The case against this man was overwhelming," Naiburg said in court.