Sentence In Fatal Stabbing Of 74-Year-Old Wallkill Man

WALLKILL, NY — An Orange County man who was found guilty in the death of a 74-year-old man during a road rage incident found out whether he will be spending time behind bars.

Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said Horace Duke, 23, of Wallkill, was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years in prison and five years post-release supervision in connection with the fatal stabbing of Joel Laddy, 74, of Wallkill, on Oct. 20.

Duke was convicted April 25 by a jury of all charges, including first-degree manslaughter and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

He was sent to the Orange County Jail after the verdict.

Hoovler’s office had recommended Duke be sentenced to the maximum term of 25 years in prison.

Prosecutors said Duke was involved in a motor vehicle accident with Laddy, which escalated into a verbal argument near Exit 119 of Route 17 in the town of Wallkill.

During the argument, Duke stabbed the 74-year-old once in the chest with a kitchen knife, puncturing the man’s heart and causing his death.

The investigation was conducted by the Town of Wallkill Police Department, the New York State Police and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Hoovler said the evidence presented at the trial proved Duke fatally stabbed an unarmed, elderly man after their cars were involved in a collision.

“Road rage is dangerous and can escalate into irreversible acts of violence,” he said. “This defendant was aware that a passenger in his car was speaking to the police on a telephone and there was no reason for him to confront the victim with a knife. The loss of life in this case was both senseless and preventable.”