Skagway: Cases settled in saloon stabbing
Two men involved in a stabbing at a local saloon last September have both pleaded guilty to lesser charges, said their attorneys.
In the early hours of Sept. 1, police were called to the Red Onion Saloon after David Lehmann was stabbed twice in the stomach with a knife. He was medevaced to Whitehorse General Hospital and eventually recovered.
Initially, Franswa Fernandez, a South African, was charged with first-degree assault, and a trial date was set for March 26 in Juneau Superior Court. But on March 12, he entered a plea of guilty to second-degree assault, a class B felony. It carries a maximum fine of $50,000, a $100 court surcharge and up to 10 years in jail.
Fernandez will be sentenced on May 10 in Juneau, said his attorney, Louis Menendez. Fernandez has been in the Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau since the incident.
Bridget Cross, who was with Fernandez the night of the stabbing, also pleaded to a lesser charge of hindering prosecution in the second degree, a class B misdemeanor that carries a maximum fine of $1,000, a $50 court surcharge and 90 days in jail.
She was charged with hindering prosecution in the first degree and drunken driving after she allegedly tried to drive Fernandez into Canada, but was turned back and apprehended by Skagway police.
The imposition of her sentence was suspended for a one-year probationary period, her attorney, David George, said.