After a Reno County jury found a 37-year-old Hutchinson man guilty of aggravated battery and criminal threat, Judge Tim Chambers granted him 24-months probation on a 16-month underlying sentence.
Joshua Seck was convicted for the two charges after getting into a fight and stabbed David Stover of Chase, Kansas five times. The handle of one of the knives involved allegedly broke off during the attack. This occurring on August 26, of last year at Seck’s home in the 1600 block of East 4th. He was also convicted of threatening that he was going to kill him.
In sentencing, Judge Chambers acknowledged that Stover was partly to blame when he came looking for a fight, but also noted that it could have been much worse for Seck had the victim died.
The defense claimed at trial that it was self defense, but the state argued that Seck was angry and that Stover was in the process of trying to break up a fight that began between Seck and his brother-n-law, Mike Pelsor. Stover says he jumped into to try to break up the fight and that’s when he says he was stabbed as he put a bear hug on the defendant.
The victim was not present for the sentencing Friday.