GREENVILLE — A Greenville man was sentenced to five years in prison Monday for stabbing another man at a party in May.
Dale Leroy “Pete” Brock, 56, of Greenville, entered a guilty plea in October to one count of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, for the May 2 stabbing of David A. Elliott at a party in Greenville. Elliott was stabbed in the chest after approaching Brock at the party, where they had clashed earlier in the evening.
After the stabbing, Elliott was transported by a friend to Wayne HealthCare and was immediately flown by CareFlight to Dayton for severe wounds. He was stabbed in the chest, piercing a heart and lung. Police said the dispute between the two men went back more than 20 years.
County Prosecutor R. Kelly Ormsby recommended the maximum of eight years in prison for the crime, calling it the “worst form of the offense,” because the victim nearly died twice from his injuries.
Defense attorney David Rohrer painted a different picture, citing the longtime mutual enmity between the two men — “these two had a grudge for years” — and stating that they were both heavily drinking. That Brock should behave in a violent manner was an anomaly to his normal personality.
Two longtime acquaintances of Brock told the court that Brock had not shown violent tendencies before. Brock’s presentence investigation showed no previous felony convictions but some misdemeanor offenses such as drug abuse and assault scattered over the past 35 years.
Elliott spoke to the court on his own behalf as victim, first denying that he was drunk then adding that the experience had traumatized him and he’d been in counseling to deal with the mental and emotional aftermath.
Judge Jonathan Hein acknowledged the “significant, nearly fatal injury” but stated that the action did not rise to the level of being the worst form of the offense. Hein cited the actions of repeat, habitual violent offenders that would fall into that category, rather than a single well-placed knife, regardless of the severity of outcome.
Brock was given 161 days credit for time served.
