A man who stabbed a 16-year-old multiple times in Lakota, N.D., and left him bleeding on a basement floor was ordered Monday to serve 15 years in prison and five years of supervised probation.
James Garber Jr., 22, pleaded guilty in state District Court to a charge of attempted murder. An aggravated-assault charge against him was dismissed.
Nelson County Sheriff Kelly Janke, who attended Monday's sentencing, said Garber stated in court that he could not recall the stabbing. At the time of the incident, Janke said, Garber was intoxicated with alcohol, drugs or both.
Authorities say Garber used a kitchen knife to stab the teen in the neck, chest, abdomen and back during a fight sometime between 2 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. July 2 at the teen's home.
"The father was awoken early that morning by his son crying out for him. So it would have been his father who went down and saw him lying in a pool of blood," Janke said.
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The victim's father called authorities at about 6 a.m., meaning that the victim was left injured on the basement floor for several hours, Janke said.
The victim, who authorities did not name because of his age, was taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Devils Lake and was later airlifted to Altru Hospital in Grand Forks, where he underwent several hours of surgery.
Janke said the victim was hospitalized for a couple of weeks, and that he lost all feeling in part of his right leg as a result of the assault. Once his medical costs are tallied, a hearing will be scheduled to determine how much Garber will have to pay in restitution.
A judge credited Garber on Monday with having already spent 310 days in custody.
'Brutally attacked'
Garber, who's originally from California, had moved to Lakota in 2005 for a short time, moved away and had since moved back and was living with people he knew.
Janke said the victim's father had given Garber permission July 1 to stay at his home. That's how the victim became acquainted with Garber, the sheriff said.
After the stabbing, Janke said, Garber tried to destroy clothing that he was wearing. Investigators found burnt clothing near the football field in Lakota, he said.
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Garber boarded a bus in Grand Forks on July 2, the day of the stabbing, and changed buses in Fargo. He was arrested July 3 on a bus in Colby, Kan.
Janke said authorities are considering making five other arrests in the case. Charges would include contributing to the delinquency of a minor and hindering law enforcement. He said he believes two of the five individuals knew of the assault but did not report it.
Janke said Garber and the victim were the only people in the basement at the time of the stabbing. There had been a party at the home earlier that night, he said.
As for a motive, Janke said, it appears Garber was trying to impress a girl by assaulting the victim.
"He was literally a poor and innocent victim that was brutally attacked by somebody else's poor judgment," the sheriff said.
Ingersoll reports on crime and courts. Reach him at (701) 780-1269; (800) 477-6572, ext. 269; or send e-mail to aingersoll@gfherald.com .
