VERO BEACH – A former Indian River Academy teacher will serve 25 years in prison after a jury in April convicted him of attempted premeditated first-degree murder for shooting a man outside his unit at The Preserve of Oslo apartments in 2021, court papers show.
Darius Cohen, 29, had faced up to life in prison related to the Oct. 10, 2021 gunfire incident at the apartments in the 2300 block of 10th Road Southwest.
At the time, Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said the shooting happened following a struggle after Cohen and his then-roommate Akkua Hallback, 30, mistakenly entered the wrong apartment at the Preserve at Oslo where they were visiting a woman after a night out in Vero Beach.
Cohen, of Clewiston, and Hallback, of Moore Haven, had been sharing a home in the 9300 block 107th Avenue, arrest records show.
Both men were former college athletes who had just begun teaching physical education at county schools – Cohen at Indian River Academy, 500 20th St. S.W., and Hallback at Sebastian Elementary School, 400 Sebastian Blvd., Schools Superintendent David Moore said after the incident.
Cohen and Hallback were fired following their arrests, according to Moore.
Assistant State Attorney Justin Miller on June 9 said after a jury seated in Indian River County convicted Cohen in April of attempted premeditated first-degree murder, he faced a mandatory minimum punishment of 25 years under Florida’s 10-20-life law.
“That’s because the jury found he used a firearm, discharged the firearm, and caused great bodily harm in the discharge of the firearm,” Miller said.
The 10-20-life law mandates specific minimum sentences for possessing a firearm during a felony (10 years), firing a firearm during a felony (20 years), and causing death or serious injury by firing a firearm during a felony (25 years to life), according to state statutes.
Miller said he argued during Cohen’s hearing for Circuit Judge Robert Meadows to impose the 25-year term.
“Obviously it’s a sad situation,” Miller said, “but I feel a measure of justice was served by both the verdict and the sentence that was handed down.”
Cohen said nothing in court, according to Miller, but the man he shot made a “powerful statement” before Meadows imposed the sentence.
The man specifically spoke about how his young children were left traumatized from the incident, Miller said.
“He talked about the physical difficulties he’s still experiencing as a result of being shot in the spine twice, where the bullet is still lodged in his back,” Miller said. “He talked about how his children are fearful every time they hear a loud noise. They are having difficulty in school because they are afraid of being in public places.”
The man also spoke about being a father, Miller said, and how he feels he can’t help his children “because it’s sort of beyond his ability to help them heal from the trauma.”
Cohen’s Palm Beach Gardens attorney, Zedrick Barber II could not be reached June 10 for comment.
Darius Cohen
What happened
At his trial, Cohen on the stand said he shot the man twice in self-defense during a late-night confrontation, but the jury rejected his testimony.
According to reports and trial testimony, the man told sheriff’s investigators that on Oct. 10, 2021, shortly before 4:30 a.m., he and his family were asleep when he woke up to see Hallback in his bedroom and Cohen in one of the bathrooms. He asked them what they were doing inside his apartment and they told him they were in the wrong place.
He did not recognize either man, he told detectives.
When the man confronted Hallback, he apologized and started to leave. The man sees Cohen emerge from the living room area near where children were sleeping. The man then saw Hallback appear to take something as he left, making him believe the men were there to steal.
As he walked outside following Cohen and Hallback along a breezeway to find out why they were inside the apartment, he and Cohen started fighting, records show.
The man grabbed Cohen by the shoulder to turn him around to see who he was and to confront him about possibly stealing from his home.
Cohen turned and swung at the man and as the pair fell on the pavement, the man saw Hallback return with a gun.
“He (Hallback) was actually urging both men to chill out, to basically relax that ‘hey, we’re good, we realized it was a mistake,’ essentially trying to break up the fight,” Miller said April 18 after the trial ended.
The man, knowing Hallback was armed, decided to run just as Cohen armed himself with a gun.
Surveillance video showed that for 8 seconds the man was running back toward his unit when four gunshots rang out, with two bullets striking the man in the back.
Cohen and Hallback drove away, and Cohen carried with him the firearm used in the shooting.
The man was treated and later released from HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital.
Four days after the shooting, investigators served a search warrant at the Vero Lakes Estate home Cohen and Hallback shared and seized three weapons: A .45 caliber, a Glock 9mm and a SIG Sauer 9mm.,
Ballistics determined that the SIG Sauer was the gun that fired the bullets that struck the man in the back. DNA testing done on the SIG Sauer trigger and grip matched Cohen, and his fingerprint was matched to one lifted from the magazine clip inside the weapon.
Records show Hallback, who was not charged with a weapons offense, testified at Cohen’s trial.
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In 2022, he pleaded no contest to possession of amphetamine related to 10.5 Adderall pills found in his bedroom. Adderall is an amphetamine that is a central nervous system stimulant.
Hallback entered into a drug court diversion program and as part of a plea deal, his case was transferred to Orange County.
Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of “Uncertain Terms,” a true-crime podcast. Reach her at melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Judge sentences ex-Indian River Academy teacher in 2021 shooting case