A Harvey man who was convicted last month of stabbing another man after being warned to keep off his mother’s lawn was sentenced Monday (May 9) to 12 years in prison as a three-time felon.
Jessie Havies, 34, was convicted of aggravated battery on April 27, for the Aug. 14, 2014 stabbing in the 2600 block of Max Drive in Harvey. According to testimony presented to the six-member jury, the victim and his brother told Havies to stop walking across their mother’s lawn, leading to an argument that escalated to violence.
Using a knife with a four-inch blade, Havies stabbed one of the men, lacerating his liver and leading to more than a week of hospitalization, according to testimony. Havies said he was defending himself, an assertion the jury rejected.
After denying a defense request for a new trial on Monday, Judge Henry Sullivan of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Havies to 10 years in prison, the maximum for aggravated battery. He declined to reconsider his decision, saying he “believes the sentence is appropriate considering the testimony in this matter.”
Prosecutors then filed a multiple bill, charging Havies as a three-time felon under the state’s habitual offender law. The prior convictions cited in the bill were of possession of cocaine and attempted possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Havies pleaded guilty to the bill, admitting he was, in fact, the same person who had those prior convictions. In turn, Sullivan increased the 10-year sentence to 12 years.
Assistant District Attorneys Lindsay Truhe and Thomas Sanderson prosecuted the case.
