PUNISHMENT

Maryland Man Convicted of Murder in Black College Student’s Slaying

Sean Urbanski was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2017 killing of Richard Collins III.

A Maryland man was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2017 killing of 23-year-old Richard Collins III, The Baltimore Sun reports. Sean Urbanski, 24, was initially hit with both the murder charge and a hate-crime charge for fatally stabbing Collins near a College Park bus stop on May 20, 2017. However, the judge threw out the hate-crime charge earlier this week—claiming that prosecutors did not meet the legal burden for the charge. Urbanski left the bus stop and then returned to where Collins—an Army lieutenant and Bowie State University student—and two others were waiting for an Uber. When Urbanski returned to the stop, he was carrying a knife. He approached the group and stabbed Collins. Prosecutors claimed that Urbanski was a member of a racist Facebook group called “Alt-Reich: Nation” and had multiple racist memes on his phone. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison or life in prison without parole.