Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today
announced that Albert Coppedge, 49, of Coram, pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First
Degree, for beating his landlord, 62-year-old Kenneth Mitchell, to death with a dumbbell, and
stealing money from his wallet afterwards.
“This defendant’s guilty plea does not take away the pain of the loss that Mr. Mitchell’s friends
and loved ones have endured. I hope that this resolution allows them some closure for this horrific
act of violence,” said District Attorney Tierney. “I want to thank our prosecutors for securing this
conviction, as well as the Suffolk County Police Department for their investigation in this case.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, on
December 6, 2020, shortly after 11 a.m., multiple eyewitnesses saw Coppedge and Mitchell, his
landlord, engaged in a verbal altercation in the backyard of their home in Coram. Coppedge was
later seen wielding a dumbbell and then repeatedly striking Mitchell in the head while Mitchell
was pleading for Coppedge to stop. Coppedge then took Mitchell’s wallet and removed a large
sum of cash before fleeing the property. Mitchell was taken to Long Island Community Hospital
where he was pronounced dead. Several hours after the attack, Coppedge returned to the scene
where he encountered law enforcement, and he was placed under arrest.
On December 20, 2023, Coppedge pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice, the
Honorable Steven A. Pilewski, to Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B felony. Coppedge
is due back in court for sentencing on January 26, 2024. Coppedge is being represented by
Christopher Brocato, Esq.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Dena Rizopoulos of the Homicide
Bureau, with investigative assistance from Detective Scott Aquilino of the Suffolk County Police
Department’s Homicide Squad.