ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Jonte Wunner of Monticello was sentenced to 35 years in state prison on Thursday for the murder of 49-year-old Mohammed Poquee in Albany last October, the Albany County District Attorney’s Office (ACDA) announced. Wunner, 26, was convicted in May after pleading not guilty in November 2024.
Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox!
Wunner was found guilty of shooting Poquee with a handgun during an argument at a party at the Ida Yarborough Apartments on North Pearl Street on October 20, 2024. Poquee died from his injuries at Albany Medical Center.
The defense initially argued that Wunner was protecting himself, believing Poquee to be reaching for a weapon when the shooting occurred, but evidence revealed that Poquee was unarmed during the dispute. Investigators also determined that a toddler was in the vicinity at the time of the incident.
Two teens charged with making bomb threat to Nurses Middle College in Rensselaer
“This is one of those cases where I think the judge was right to lock up the guy and throw awaythe key,” Albany County District Attorney Lee Kindlon stated. “Wunner showed he had little regard for human life, and Albany County is a lot safer today with this guy behind bars.”
At Wunner’s sentencing, Poquee’s fiancée, Tyesha Townsend, described Mohammed as “A man who had turned his life around and was always willing to help a friend,” according to the ACDA. “This didn’t need to go down the way it did,” Townsend said.
Ravena pedestrian hospitalized after being hit by truck
Judge Thomas Marcelle reportedly offered Wunner an opportunity for a comment at the sentencing, but the Monticello man declined to speak. Judge Marcelle stated “It’s still a mystery, to know exactly what that confrontation was about, but the resolution of that confrontation was met with deadly violence. And your actions deprived this world of an individual who wanted to live, who had love in his life, who had hopes and dreams, and it’s all gone.”…