Bridgeport woman sentenced to 5 years' probation in stabbing

But Bedell, recently elected to a fourth eight-year term, has heard from defendants before who said they’d hit rock bottom and were ready to reform, only to fail in following through.

If Davis doesn’t receive help for her “dire” substance abuse problems in the community while on probation, “you’ll get that help offered to you in a prison setting,” Bedell said.

If he has to revoke her probation and send Davis to prison, it “won’t be out of meanness” but because of her need for treatment, which at that point could be addressed by state Division of Corrections officials, Bedell indicated.

Davis, 28, of Bridgeport, is on probation for five years. She would face a prison term of 2-10 years if the court revokes her probation and decides the penitentiary is appropriate.

Clarksburg Patrol Officer Tim Criss had accused Davis of stabbing a man in the chest at the corner of Clay and Flynn streets.

During an April 1 hearing in which she pleaded guilty, Davis said the man came to her house, she went outside, and they got into an altercation.

“He basically grabbed me,” she said during the April hearing. “I had a knife on me and stabbed him. ... I didn’t want to hurt him. I basically wanted him to leave me alone.”

Davis was abusing subutex at the time. The brief time she spent in jail before posting bond was enough to cause her to quit using, Davis said during the April 1 hearing.

Harrison Assistant Prosecutor James Armstrong made no official sentencing recommendation as part of the plea agreement.

The longtime state’s attorney did tell the court, however, that this was one of the “very few” cases involving a violent act in which he hadn’t actively pursued prison time.

At this point in the matter, incarceration wouldn’t benefit Davis or protect society, Armstrong opined.

The defendant “is by no means a serial stabber or someone prone to violence,” Armstrong said. “The circumstances were unique.”

Additionally, Davis’s problem with substance abuse appeared to have turned her “down the path” she was on at the time of the stabbing, Armstrong said.

Defense attorney Jason Glass asked for an alternative sentence such as probation of home detention.

This was the defendant’s first felony conviction, Glass noted. She also is employed, and accepted responsibility by pleading guilty, he added.

Davis had only one positive drug screen while the case was pending, Glass said. And she took herself off suboxone following the incident, Glass said.

Davis tearfully apologized to the victim (who wasn’t present) and the court.

“He’s right,” she said, referring to a statement Glass made: “I have hit rock bottom. This woke me up, knocked me out of the life I was living.”

Bedell indicated that granting Davis an alternative sentence wasn’t a crystal-clear decision.

“The court’s not totally sold on the sentence,” Bedell said.

The defendant’s criminal history of “three or four or five” prior misdemeanors isn’t significant, but she also “never paid a dime” on court costs in those past cases, which suggests she didn’t accept responsibility, the judge said.

She will have to pay all costs and restitution in this case, Bedell stressed.

In the end, Bedell decided that Davis deserves a chance to address her drug abuse problem via the community, through a doctor she already has begun to visit and via tools offered by the Harrison County Day Report Center.

Bedell also decided on probation instead of home detention. Davis will either succeed at overcoming her addiction or end up in prison, where she then will have a choice of whether to participate in the treatment programs there, Bedell indicated.

The judge ordered $50 restitution to Walmart for a shoplifting charge that was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

A hearing is set July 28 to determine what restitution will be paid in the stabbing case, where Medicaid paid for treatment of the chest wound. Glass said he would oppose the victim’s suggestion that he lost $100,000 in wages and that Davis should pay for that.

Patrol Officer Criss investigated the stabbing. Another Clarksburg officer, Dan Ingles, also was involved in investigating Davis.

Also:

— Bedell has extended the probation of Jacob Warnimont by a year.

Warnimont, 20, of Ottawa in northwestern Ohio, originally was placed on probation for 2 years in March of 2015 for conspiracy to commit burglary.

But under supervision by probation officers in Ohio, he drank alcohol last December; smoked marijuana twice, in early February and mid-April; missed several counseling sessions; and associated with individuals known to use marijuana.

Bedell on Friday found Warnimont in violation of the terms of his probation after the defendant admitted wrongdoing.

But Warnimont gets at least one more chance before facing a possible prison term of 1-5 years. Ohio authorities have signaled, though, that their patience is wearing thin, according to statements in court.

Harrison Assistant Prosecutor Andrea Roberts and defense attorney Jonathan Fittro joined in asking the court to extend the probation by a year rather than imposing jail or prison.

Warnimont’s probation now is scheduled to end May 20, 2018, instead of in March of 2017.