Coram man sentenced to 12 years in prison for fatal stabbing of roommate

A Coram man was sentenced to 12 years in prison Monday for the fatal stabbing of his roommate, whom he admitted killing while maintaining he was acting in self-defense.

Anthony Wayne Smith, 65, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in September after initially being charged with second-degree murder for the July 19, 2022, death of John Hall, 55, whom he lived with on Carr Lane in Coram.

“I do believe that you are sorry that Mr. Hall lost his life,” State Supreme Court Justice John Collins told Smith during his sentencing in Riverhead. “I am also certain that you have deluded yourself into thinking you are the victim in this matter."

Collins said the 12-year sentence was less than what prosecutors had sought.

Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Frank Schroeder said Smith, who previously lived in Riverhead, has a lengthy criminal history dating to 1975, when he was arrested for the first time at age 17. State prison records show he served 12 years on a weapons conviction beginning in 1979 and later spent 6 years in prison on a 2002 assault conviction.

In 2014, Smith was arrested by Riverhead Town police for slashing the face of a man near the Riverhead train station.

“Forty-eight years in and out of jail, ending with him being here today for taking the life of another human being,” Schroeder said.

Hall’s sister, Cheryl Brown, told Collins her brother was trying to improve his life while living at the boardinghouse where Smith also stayed. She said she was working with him to address undisclosed issues in his life and that she believed he was close to finding new living arrangements before the altercation ended his life.

Brown said she was “satisfied” with the sentence.

“There’s no time that can bring my brother back,” Brown said. “No tears, no outbursts, no hate, none of that could actually bring him back.”

Brown said she hopes Smith studies the Bible, if afforded that opportunity in prison.

Police at the time said Smith stabbed Hall following an altercation at 4:55 a.m. and was pronounced dead at the scene. A portion of the altercation was captured on video, Collins said.

Smith was near trial when he accepted the judge’s plea offer on Sept. 19, but before sentencing he wrote to the judge attempting to withdraw that plea. Collins said Monday that Smith argued that he should not have been prevented by a previous attorney from testifying before a grand jury in the case. Smith also claimed to have ineffective counsel from his current defense attorney, Jason Bassett of Central Islip.

Collins denied that motion.

“You know you got a good disposition of this matter and now you’re trying to undo it,” Collins said.

Bassett told Collins that despite his client’s opinions of “the quality of the legal representation” that he received, he does believe Smith to be remorseful for causing Hall’s death.

Smith said Monday that “the system has failed both me and Mr. Hall."

“I apologize to the Hall family. I’m sorry for their loss,” Smith said. “It was never my intent to harm Mr. Hall.”

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.