Two teen-age brothers Wednesday were sentenced to six years in state prison for their brutal attack

on on a white man walking with his African-American girlfriend.

Both Donte A. Lee, 18, and his half-brother Antoine Blackmon, 16, of Newburgh Avenue were

denied youthful offender status and taken into custody about 10:45 a.m.

State Supreme Court Justice Christopher J. Burns told the tearful teens that youthful

offender status is for mistakes committed by youth, stressing that the attack "was not a

mistake" deserving of noncriminal treatment.

"This was an innocent man walking down the street. There's no excuse for this kind of

violence," Burns told the two.

Their victim, Brian Milligan, 19, of Depew, still suffers from memory lapses due to the

severe head injuries he suffered in the late-night attack on Genesee Street near Floor Avenue

last Aug. 18.

The two brothers, who were free on $20,000 bail until Wednesday, apologized to their victim,

who was in the courtroom.

Defense attorney Terrence D. McKelvey insisted their younger cousin, who was 12 when the

attack occurred and is being prosecuted as a juvenile in Family Court, instigated the brutal

stomping incident.

Although the attack initially was suspected of being a race-related crime, prosecutor Lawrence M.

Schwegler described it as "a heinous, stupid senseless" crime.

McKelvey conceded that Lee and Blackmon "exercised extremely poor judgment," saying the

teens believed their cousin's claim that Milligan "had been messing with him" and needed

street punishment.

Milligan had intended to speak during the sentencing but declined, prosecutors Schwegler and Paul C. Parisi told the judge.