Sentencing for a 33-year-old man convicted of repeatedly stabbing another man to death was delayed Monday after testimony indicated prosecutors did not notify the victim's family about the hearing.
A Superior Court judge now will decide Tidiane Kone's prison term in March.
Kone was charged in August 2012 for killing Adrian Beaver, who was stabbed 15 times. Kone was out on bail for an assault charge when he killed Beaver.
Police said they used data from a court-ordered tracking device that Kone wore on his ankle as a condition of bail to trace his movements up to the murder and continue tracking him while police gathered evidence in the following days.
Officers arrested Kone when he checked in for his weekly visit at the device's monitoring company, according to an Anchorage Daily News story at that time.
A jury found Kone guilty of first- and second-degree murder in April, siding with the state's argument that he "armed himself for a confrontation he was looking for," said assistant district attorney Katholyn Runnels. Those charges will be merged for sentencing.
Kone also was convicted of two assault charges for stabbing another man, Lovie Houston, who was with Beaver.
During Monday's hearing, Kone interjected comments several times as the parties argued over the severity of the crime. Runnels argued that Kone's actions were among the worst of similar crimes, while Kone, through his defense, argued the opposite.
The prosecutor said Kone made contradictory statements to the police. The defendant allegedly said he tried to call police after being mugged by Beaver and Houston following a drug deal gone awry. Runnels argued Kone armed himself and went looking for revenge.
She said Kone's right to defend himself "sure ended before 15 stab wounds. This was an intentional killing."
Defense attorney Marcelle McDannel asked the court to consider "imperfect self-defense," which would mitigate her client's punishment by arguing that he countered a deadly attack.
Beaver introduced the knife, or the element of lethal violence, into the situation, McDannel said. Kone was injured trying to disarm Beaver, she said. And there was no sufficient evidence that Kone went looking for a fight.
"He meant to get his stuff back," she said.
Kone interrupted as McDannel argued before the court. He said the state lied during trial and demanded the judge order a mistrial.
"The state fabricated lies to get (the) conviction," he said. "Something's not right. I object to it."
Two people impacted by Beaver's death are expected to speak when the sentencing resumes in two months.