Man gets 11 years for butcher knife attack over drug deal
Sun-Times Media June 4, 2012 12:14PM
Marcellus D. Thomas / photo from Kane County State's Attorney's office
Updated: June 4, 2012 12:16PM
ST. CHARLES - A 31-year-old Elgin man has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison for severely injuring a man with a butcher knife in a dispute over a drug deal last year.
Marcellus D. Thomas, whose last known address was in the 100 block of South State Street in Elgin, was sentenced May 31 by Kane County Circuit Judge David Akemann to 11 years in prison, according to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s office.
Thomas was convicted March 16 by a jury of one count each of armed violence, aggravated battery with great bodily harm, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, a release from the state’s attorneys office said.
About 7 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2011, after Thomas, the victim and others had been drinking and taking drugs all night at Thomas’ apartment, the victim tried to leave, the release said. An argument began over whether the victim had paid for some cocaine and Thomas grabbed a butcher knife. After a struggle, Thomas stabbed the victim in the left shoulder area, puncturing his subclavian artery.
Thomas left the apartment with a friend and threw the knife into an open area near the Fox River.
Paramedics described the crime scene as one of the bloodiest they had seen, the state’s attorney’s office said. The victim suffered permanent injuries.
Because Judge Akemann ruled Thomas’ actions caused great bodily harm to the victim, he must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence. He was given credit for at least 203 days served in the Kane County Jail.
