The San Diego County district attorney said Stephen Mathews Coney was sentenced to 31 years to life.

Thirty-one years to life is the term the district attorney's release printed after the September 9 conviction. Patch's "31 years to life" and the release's "31-years-to life" are not the same typesetting. CBS 8's August 31, 2025 story names Stephen Matthews, 29. That is not the name on the November 2 release.

The San Diego County District Attorney's Office, in a release dated November 2, 2026, said District Attorney Summer Stephan announced that day that Stephen Mathews Coney, 30, was sentenced to 31-years-to life in prison for the fatal stabbing of a 59-year-old man during an altercation at an El Cajon apartment complex in August 2025. The release prints the term as 31-years-to life. It said a jury convicted Coney of second-degree murder on September 9, 2026, for killing Albert Johnson, after deliberating for less than a day. It does not name the judge, and it does not print the clock of the sentencing hearing. It quoted Stephan: "This victim took his last breath in public in front of shocked children who witnessed the violent confrontation." It quoted her saying that no sentence can undo the pain suffered by the victim's loved ones and that holding the defendant accountable is part of seeking justice. The children in that quotation are not named. The release said Coney, "a jealous ex-boyfriend," confronted the victim, who had recently rekindled a 5-year relationship with Coney's ex-girlfriend, in the parking lot of an apartment complex on South Sunshine Avenue near West Renette Avenue in El Cajon, pulled out a knife, and fatally stabbed him. Jealous ex-boyfriend is the release's phrase. The ex-girlfriend is not named. It said El Cajon Police Department officers found Coney at the apartment complex and arrested him, and that the victim was taken to a local hospital, where he later died. It said the confrontation took place in front of several children who were in the apartment parking lot, and that a child witness testified at the trial. The child is not named here. It said nearly 30 family members attended the trial and the sentencing. It quoted the victim's father, Wyatt Johnson: "Our family is stunned and left lonely because of the empty space that has been left because of the dastardly crime perpetrated on my son. Albert was making life a little better for those all around him and his children, who now are left without a father and example of a good man whom they could look up to, and know what righteous life is all about." His children, in that statement, are not named. It said Deputy District Attorney Abrey Zora prosecuted the case.

Patch, by Kristina Houck, posted Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. PT, reported a La Mesa man was sentenced to 31 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing a man during a confrontation at an El Cajon apartment complex. 31 years to life, on Patch, and 31-years-to life, on the release, are not the same typesetting. It reported Stephen Mathews Coney, 30, was convicted Sept. 9 of second-degree murder in the August 2025 killing of Albert Johnson, 59, according to the district attorney's office. Sept. 9, on Patch, does not print 2026 and does not print that the jury deliberated for less than a day. It reported prosecutors said he confronted Johnson in the parking lot on South Sunshine Avenue near West Renette Avenue, that Johnson had recently rekindled a five-year relationship with Coney's ex-girlfriend, and that during the confrontation Coney pulled out a knife and stabbed Johnson in front of several children. Five-year, on Patch, and 5-year, on the release, are not the same typesetting. Patch does not print "jealous." It reported Johnson was taken to a hospital, where he died, and that El Cajon police arrested Coney at the apartment complex. Where he died, on Patch, and where he later died, on the release, are not the same sentence. It reported a child testified during the trial. It does not name the child. It reported nearly 30 members of Johnson's family attended the trial and sentencing. It printed Wyatt Johnson's statement in two paragraphs, with the same words the release prints as one statement. Patch does not print Summer Stephan's quotation or Abrey Zora. The photograph on that page is labeled "Victim: Albert Johnson, 59." It is not a photograph of Coney.

CBS 8, bylined City News Service, published and updated at 12:04 p.m. PDT on August 31, 2025, reported a man was arrested on suspicion of murder after an altercation at an apartment complex parking lot in El Cajon. It reported El Cajon police Lt. Eric Thornton said the altercation occurred about 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the 900 block of South Sunshine Avenue, that one of the males stabbed the other, that the victim was transported to the hospital and later died, and that the suspect was located on scene and arrested. About 5:30 p.m. Saturday, and the 900 block, are that Sunday story. The November 2 release says August 2025 and South Sunshine Avenue near West Renette Avenue. It does not print a day, a clock, or the 900 block. It reported Stephen Matthews, 29, of La Mesa, and said he had an extensive criminal history that included arrests for assault with a deadly weapon and firearm charges. Stephen Matthews, 29, on that page, and Stephen Mathews Coney, 30, on the November 2 release, are not the same name and are not the same age. Arrests, in that criminal-history sentence, are not convictions. It reported the victim was a 59-year-old man from El Cajon and that his name was not released. Albert Johnson, on the November 2 release and on Patch, is not a name CBS 8 printed. A 10News story on this sentencing was not found. The release does not name the judge. The sentence is the term the district attorney's office said was imposed after the September 9 conviction. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.