A 26-year-old man convicted in the ambush slaying of a romantic rival back in January has been sentenced to 18 years to life in state prison in Ulster County Court Friday. Walter D. Post had previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the January 11 shotgun killing of Michael Hankins, 29, in Shawangunk.

Prosecutors say that Post, of Pine Bush, was stalking his ex-girlfriend’s home on Vinegar Hill Road when he spotted Hankins there. Believing that Hankins and his ex were romantically involved, Post disabled his vehicle and staked out the house. Hankins left the home around 1 a.m. but his vehicle broke down a short distance down Vinegar Hill Road. There, police say, Post ambushed Hankins, firing several blasts from a shotgun at close range. Hankins body was found by Post’s ex’s mother the next day. Post, meanwhile, confessed the killing to his ex and his own mother before surrendering to police without incident.

In July, he pleaded guilty to single count of second-degree murder. In exchange, Chief Assistant District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji agreed to recommend a sentence of 18 years to life in state prison. The deal also required Post to pay $8,200 in restitution, the cost of his victim’s funeral, to Hankins’ family. Post faced a maximum sentence of 25 years to life if convicted of murder at trial.

Friends and family of both Post and Hankins were present — on opposite sides of the courtroom — on Friday when visiting Sullivan County Court Judge James Farrell pronounced sentence.

Addressing the court, Nneji read two victim impact statements on behalf of Hankins’ mother, Maria Hankins, and other friends and family members. In the statements, Hankins’ family remembered him as a “kind, empathetic and loving” man who would miss watching his young son grow up. Maria Hankins wrote that Post’s actions the night of the murder were “vile and horrific.”

“What Walter took from me was the biggest part of me,” Maria Hankins wrote. “He did it without a second thought.”

In his own remarks to the court, Nneji said that the jealously-fueled murder showed a callous side to Post, in contrast to the man described by family members in letters to the court and a pre-sentencing report in which a county probation officer found his expressions of remorse and acceptance of responsibility genuine.

“To say that, because I cannot have this person, therefore I’m going to blow somebody away, put a hole through their heart and kill them, there is a measure of humanity missing in that mindset,” Nneji said.

Defense attorney Tom Melanson pointed to the pre-sentencing report, Post’s guilty plea and his own experience with him to make the case that his client felt extreme remorse for his actions.

“He understands what he did and he understands very deeply that nothing can be said here, nothing can be done to bring Mr. Hankins back,” said Melanson. “For whatever it’s worth, Walter lives with the guilt and the horror of what he did. He goes through it every night.”

Post declined to make a statement. Farrell addressed Hankins’ mother, expressing sympathy for her loss and understanding of the “unnatural” act of a mother forced to bury a child.

Then he turned his attention to Post, telling him that he would include a note in the case file urging them to carefully consider whether he was genuinely sorry for his actions before allowing him to return to society.

“[Maria Hankins] had to bury her son because of what you did, Mr. Post,” said Farrell. “Because of your intentional, callous, calculated murderous act.”