BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for fatally stabbing a 21-year-old man in an unprovoked attack while the victim was walking home with his brother, prosecutors announced Friday.

Javokhir Nematov, 22, of Midwood, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in January and was sentenced by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Rhonda Tomlinson.

The attack occurred on December 23, 2020, near Turner Place and Coney Island Avenue in Kensington. According to prosecutors, Tyler Kobe Nichols and his 24-year-old brother were walking home from a barbershop when Nematov and several others confronted them, asking, “What are you looking at?” before launching an assault.

Nichols was stabbed five times in the torso, suffering fatal injuries to his heart, lung, liver, and kidney. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Nematov was arrested on March 5, 2021, after being stopped for having excessively tinted windows in the same vehicle linked to the crime. He was charged with Nichols’ murder the following day.

“This heartbreaking and senseless act of violence stole the life of Tyler Kobe Nichols, a young man with his entire future ahead of him,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. “While no sentence can ever make up for their pain, today’s outcome ensures that the defendant is held accountable.”

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