Man gets 14 to 40 years in prison for Tequila Cowboy fatal stabbing

Dulane Cameron Sr. approached the front of the courtroom on Thursday holding a small, square cardboard box.

“I want Joden to see what he has reduced my son to,” Cameron said. “He should be better than ashes in a box.

“I miss my son.”

Cameron left the ashes on a lectern as he spoke about the loss he and his family suffered when his son, Dulane Cameron Jr., 24, of Monaca, was stabbed to death outside Tequila Cowboy in what prosecutors said was a racially motivated crime on Aug. 19, 2018.

“I already forgave you,” Cameron Sr. told the defendant. “I didn’t even know you. That night you killed my son, I said, ‘I forgive you.’”

Dulane Cameron Sr. spoke after the sentencing Thursday for Joden Rocco, the man who killed his son. Cameron took the ashes of Dulane Cameron Jr. with him to the hearing. pic.twitter.com/21ie8AhyLG

— Paula Reed Ward (@PaulaReedWard) June 2, 2022

Joden Rocco, who pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in February, sat at counsel table and met Cameron Sr.’s eye.

And later, he apologized.

“I made a mistake and cost a man his life,” he said.

Rocco, 28, was ordered to serve 14 to 40 years in state prison by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos.

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According to the prosecution, Rocco encountered Cameron Jr., who was walking with two friends and two women, around 2 a.m. that day on the North Shore.

Rocco told the women, “‘You look too good to be talking to them.’”

The women said they then heard him use a racial epithet and grab one of the men by his hair.

Cameron and his friend fought to get Rocco off, and Rocco left. He then reappeared in front of them, and a fight started.

Rocco, who had been kicked out of McFadden’s bar a short time earlier for using a racial epithet, pulled a folding knife from his pocket and stabbed Cameron in the neck, severing both his carotid artery and his jugular vein.

He died at the scene.

Rocco was arrested a short time later.

Assistant District Attorney Emma Schoedel told the court at the plea hearing that Rocco was driven that night by racist hate. She cited social media posts from Rocco and messages he sent earlier in the evening including racial slurs.

“But for the defendant’s racial beliefs, we wouldn’t be here,” she said. “There are many times where this could have stopped. It escalated based on his intent and his animus.”

But defense attorney Christopher Capozzi told the court that race had nothing to do with his client’s actions that night.

Instead, Capozzi said it was a bar fight that went bad.

“Mr. Cameron is not dead because Joden Rocco is an unrepentant, violent criminal. He is not dead because Joden Rocco is a racist. He is dead because of alcohol, intoxication, anger and testosterone.”

When he addressed the court, Rocco said the events unfolded quickly that night.

“It all happened so fast. I didn’t know what to do,” he said. “I really can’t recall much — just flashes and moments.”

Rocco told the court that he made the choice to go out and drink, knowing that he had a problem with alcohol.

“This altercation never had anything to do with race,” Rocco said. “Alcohol got the best of me. I turned into a typical drunk.”

Rocco said that he is ashamed of the racist remarks he made on social media and that he only made them to impress someone.

“I’m ashamed of it. I regret it,” he said. “Since I’ve been incarcerated, I’ve been deprogrammed.”

Turning to Cameron Sr., Rocco said, “I’m sorry, sir. The racist remarks don’t reflect me. They don’t reflect my family.”

Rocco’s mother, Denise Rocco, told the court that she believed her son was sexually abused as a child by a family member who was later sentenced to prison.

She said from that point on in her son’s childhood, he had difficulty making friends and became distant.

The abuse, Capozzi said, explains why his client struggled socially, academically and with alcohol.

During their victim-impact statements, the Cameron family described Dulane Cameron Jr. as kind, soft-spoken and fun, athletic, strong and confident.

“I wanted to be just like him,” said his brother Tyler Niederriter-Cameron.

R.J. West was friends with the victim his whole life.

“Dulane never had a chance to become who he was meant to be in this world,” West said.

Barbara Cameron said her grandson’s death was senseless and hateful.

“Dulane did not know him, and he did not know Dulane,” she said. “I’m a Christian, and I forgive you. I forgive you for killing my grandson.”

The family spoke often of God. They also asked the court to provide them with justice.

Anthony Cameron, the victim’s second cousin, told Rangos that their family is broken.

“Our Black community continues to be victims of brutal lynchings and hate mongering,” he said. “Hate, hate, hate took our cousin’s life. And love is here to support justice.”

Cameron Sr. said his son was his best friend — that he volunteered at his school and sports teams, chaperoned every field trip and confided in him.

“I did all I could do to raise my son,” Cameron Sr. said. “I gave him all I had.

“The sacrifice I gave wasn’t enough.”

Rangos, who noted that she was emotionally moved by the family’s statements, said she cannot give them justice.

“It’s never enough,” she said. “I can’t bring back Lane. I can’t make right what Joden Rocco did. None of us will know for sure what was in his heart that day.

“Being drunk does not cause you to hate, does not cause you to kill. So alcohol is no excuse.”