On a cold December evening in Geneva, New York, the life of 38-year-old Pliekou Irvin Sr., a Black male, was tragically cut short. On December 5, 2017, at approximately 9:40 p.m., Irvin was sitting in a car near the intersection of Middle and Exchange Streets when he was shot. He was rushed to Geneva General Hospital but ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The incident prompted an immediate and intensive investigation by the Geneva Police Department, who were determined to bring the person responsible to justice.
The investigation quickly led authorities to a suspect, 30-year-old Willie Dixon McKoy Jr., also a resident of Geneva. A tense standoff ensued at a home in neighboring Wayne County, where McKoy was eventually apprehended by law enforcement. Following his arrest, McKoy was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the death of Pliekou Irvin Sr.
The legal proceedings against Willie Dixon McKoy Jr. moved forward, culminating in a trial where a jury found him guilty of the charges. He was sentenced to a term of 40 years to life in prison for the murder and weapon possession convictions. In addition to this sentence, McKoy received a consecutive seven-year sentence for a separate felony assault charge that stemmed from an incident involving another inmate at the county jail. An appeals court later upheld the murder conviction but ruled that the 15-year sentence for the weapons charge should run concurrently with the 25-years-to-life murder sentence.
