Prison Sentence In Fatal Stabbing Of Peekskill Teen

PEEKSKILL, NY — The Peekskill man who killed a teenager and then attacked a fellow prisoner in jail will be going to prison.

Jahliv Niles, 20, was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in state prison in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Omarion McKenzie, according to Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah.

Niles was also sentenced to five years post-release supervision.

He pleaded guilty May 11 to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault, both felonies. The sentences will be served concurrently.

Authorities said, around 11:15 a.m. March 27, 2020, Niles, who was 18 at the time, approached McKenzie on Howard Street in Peekskill and fatally stabbed him in the chest, stomach and back.

McKenzie was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital in Cortlandt Manor where he was pronounced dead.

Niles fled the scene but was identified and arrested by Peekskill police.

On May 19, 2020, he attacked a fellow detainee at the Westchester County Jail where he had been held since his arrest following the Peekskill stabbing.

Rocah said that family and friends of McKenzie have been forced to mourn his life which was cut short due to a senseless act of cruelty.

"This sentence will bring some measure of closure and justice to them and to the Peekskill community," she said.

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