ST. ALBANS — An online argument that authorities say was taken too far now has a 22-year-old facing up to 25 years in prison.
McHarland Cotiere is looking at the lengthy prison sentence after a jury found him guilty last week of shooting a 21-year-old in the leg in 2011 following an argument between the two on Facebook, the Queens district attorney said.
Cotiere and Joshua Arrington began arguing over a posting made online by a mutual friend, the prosecutor’s office said, and when the two met face-to-face Cotiere shot Arrington in the stomach with a .380-caliber pistol, hitting his urethra, bowel and iliac artery, according to the DA’s office.
Arrington’s leg had to be amputated above the knee in order to save his life, the DA said.
Authorities tracked Cotiere down in Georgia, where he was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in April 2012, according to the DA.
He was extradited and held on $250,000 bail throughout his trial, which ended last week with a conviction on attempted murder, assault and weapons charges, the borough’s top prosecutor’s office said.
Cotiere is facing up to 25 years in prison at his sentencing, which is set for March 31, the DA’s office said.
