Man pleads to assault

Charge amended following Alford plea

FARMINGTON — An Iron County man pleaded guilty to a lesser charge just days before his trial was scheduled.

Last week, Adam J. Stephens, 28, of Ironton, entered an Alford plea to the charge of second-degree assault. By entering an Alford plea, he did not admit to any element of the charge but recognized there was sufficient evidence for trial. He had been scheduled for trial on Monday.

As part of the plea agreement, the charge was amended from a first-degree assault charge to a second-degree charge and the armed criminal action charge was dismissed.

He is scheduled to be sentenced before Circuit Court Judge Kenneth W. Pratte on Feb. 15.

According to police reports, the altercation occurred in February 2006 when a man who had been sitting in the restaurant parking lot spotted Stephens in a vehicle at the intersection of Potosi Street and Karsch Blvd.

The man aggressively approached Stephens and punched him in the nose. Stephens pulled a knife and stabbed the man in the side under the left arm and drove away.

A relative took the stabbing victim to Parkland Hospital. He was then transported by helicopter to St. John's Medical Center for further treatment of a punctured lung.

A deputy heard the radio traffic about the stabbing and spotted the suspect's vehicle at the intersection of Karsch and Washington. Stephens was taken into custody without incident and did admit to stabbing the man.

The fight was reportedly a result of an ongoing feud among the two men and the victim's family member.

In other cases, Joshua Cassidy, 26, of Farmington, was sentenced to seven years in prison for violating the probation he received for possession of marijuana and possession of oxycodone.

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