Stabbing victim to judge: 'Every second was desperate'
Dorian Johnson
Courtesy of WCSO
The 22-year-old Detroit man who police said sliced open an Ann Arbor man last September will serve up to 10 years in prison, a judge ordered Thursday.
Dorian Johnson was sentenced to serve 67 months to 10 years for a count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder. Johnson pleaded no contest to that count, as well as a conspiracy count and a charge of possessing a dangerous weapon, in April.
The victim, 22-year-old Gailen Foster, told the Washtenaw County Trial Court he is in therapy and can't get the image of Johnson out of his head, even though he had never even met him before that night.
Foster said he was sleeping when he heard a knock on the door in the early hours of Sept. 9, 2012 at his apartment complex in the 400 block of South First Street in Ann Arbor.
It was late, about 3:30 a.m.
"As soon as I opened the door, he stabbed me," Foster said. "It's going to be in my head the rest of my life."
Johnson was in the hallway with his girlfriend, Courtney McCoy, also charged in the case and scheduled for sentencing next week. Foster said he knew McCoy, who lived across the hall from him, but not Johnson.
The one horizontal stabbing motion, displayed in court by attorneys, ripped Foster's abdomen open, yet he still had the wherewithal to walk to a gas station where 911 was called.
"I had to walk with my guts in my hands all the way to the gas station at the end of the street," Foster said. "Every second was desperate."
Prosecutors and Swartz said Foster was lucky to be alive. While arguing for the maximum sentence, Assistant Washtenaw County Prosecutor Blake Hatlem said this was very close to being a murder case. He asked the judge to sentence Johnson to 78 months to 10 years, which would have surpassed the maximum sentence allowed.
At one point, Foster pulled up the tank top he was wearing to show Swartz the healed wound. It was revealed in court Foster was only stabbed once, but it was so severe it caused three major injuries that needed surgery.
Erika Julien, Johnson's court-appointed attorney, argued for the bottom of the sentencing guidelines, about 34-67 months, citing the fact Johnson had no prior felonies. Julien also cast doubt on Johnson's culpability, saying McCoy was the one urging him to do it while he was highly intoxicated and even sticking the knife into Johnson's hand. McCoy reportedly told Johnson that he needed the knife if he was going to confront Foster, Julien told the judge.
Swartz opted for the maximum sentence legally allowed.
"This crime was very, very serious," he said. "I'm sure it was terrifying."
What exactly McCoy and Foster were fighting about that caused her to urge Johnson to confront him hasn't precisely been established. Foster told the court he wasn't sure why McCoy was upset with him, just that she told him a lot of different things that night.
"We still don't know what she really told him," he said.
Near the end of his statement, Foster looked directly at Johnson who sat behind the nearby defense table.
"I pray for you, bro," he said. "You messed up my life."
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
BhavanaJagat
Fri, May 10, 2013 : 5:48 p.m.
Human Nature and Human Behavior: Jean Jacques Rousseau(1712-78), Swiss-French philosopher, writer, and political theorist had inspired the "Romantic" generation. He maintained that human beings are essentially good and equal in the state of nature but are corrupted by the introduction of things like property and commerce when people begin to compete with one another. He developed the theory of the "Natural Man" and has described the way to correct the inequalities brought about by the rise of civilization. I am a romanticist like Rousseau and I am shocked to read this story and I am trying hard to understand the natural goodness of Mr. Johnson. Just like Rousseau, I find fault with our education which is not imparting knowledge that is already present in the student. At a fundamental level, Johnson needs an education that tells him about his own innate nature of goodness and if that simple lesson is learned, it will be easy to display that goodness in his actions and behavior. Is this all a romantic notion, or is it possible to make a change in the world of real people???
Tru2Blu76
Fri, May 10, 2013 : 3:03 p.m.
Sincere best wishes to Mr. Gailen Foster, I'm so glad you survived and are alive to see your attacker convicted and punished. And thanks to AnnArbor.com for bringing us this story of a near-tragedy which occurred in our community. It's just coincidence that Mr. Foster went to a gas station I often visit (and often around the hour mentioned in the story). That really brings it home to me. Lest there be any "misunderstanding" about my meaning (as there has been in the past), I want to make clear that I'm offering helpful advice about opening one's door to strangers - no matter what time it is. It is not "blaming victims" to offer preventive advice, it's normal for people who have knowledge which can prevent trouble to share it with one's community. And "misunderstandings" of this normal human impulse is just a twisted perversion of normal human activity -and such "misunderstanding" is, these days, simply motivated out of sick political motive. My advice is: to do a search on YouTube using the phrase "Don't Answer The Door." You will find a video with that title by Mr. Massad Ayoob, who is a police officer who also serves as an expert witness in court trials. His advice is simple, straightforward and could save your life. Like it or not, this is what I do to help others avoid being caught off guard by those with violent intentions.
Jack Gladney
Fri, May 10, 2013 : 1:31 p.m.
A person who demonstrates the propensity to murder, when found guilty as such, should be removed from society permanently. Period. End of story. This kind of crap (and there is no tamer word to describe it) has to be met with society's toughest sanction. This guy is gonna be on the streets in 5 - 10 years and we'll have to deal with him again. Oh, THEN we'll lock him up for life AFTER someone is really dead, not less than dead. Thank God for doctors who gave te victim a second chance at life by healing his physical wounds.
ordmad
Sat, May 11, 2013 : 1:29 a.m.
Said no reasonable person ever who knew anything about human psychology, redemption (see also God), rehabilitation or the $35,000 a year it costs for each year in prison.
mady
Fri, May 10, 2013 : 1:52 p.m.
Absolutely. this "man"(?) needs to never see the light of day again!
John
Fri, May 10, 2013 : 12:39 p.m.
"Foster told the court he wasn't sure why McCoy was upset with him, just that she told him a lot of different things that night." The vagaries of the "why" in the reporting of this case are silly. "she told him a lot of different things"...like what? "What exactly McCoy and Foster were fighting about that caused her to urge Johnson to confront him hasn't precisely been established." Ok...but still...what was said at trial? Anything? Maybe we'll hear something from the woman we she goes to trial next?
John
Sat, May 11, 2013 : 12:29 p.m.
Way to focus on one word, and miss the entirety of the point of the rest.
ordmad
Sat, May 11, 2013 : 1:26 a.m.
Please read article first. There was no trial.
justcurious
Fri, May 10, 2013 : 12:22 p.m.
I hope that the woman involved in this gets an appropriate sentence as well. Gender should make no difference. Amazing that this victim was able to get help for himself. They certainly weren't going to help him.
antikvetch
Fri, May 10, 2013 : 11:43 a.m.
Viciously eviscerate one unsuspecting person and suddenly they make you a felon? After all, he'd managed to make it all the way til 22 without a felony. The system can be so unfair.....
Billy
Fri, May 10, 2013 : 11:39 a.m.
""I had to walk with my guts in my hands all the way to the gas station at the end of the street," Foster said. "Every second was desperate."" I believe I noted this in the article about this when it first happened and I had my comment deleted... Also....a 67 month minimum sentence is not appropriate because of the nature of the injury inflicted. This was attempted murder....period, and allowing him to plead that down was wrong.
Basic Bob
Fri, May 10, 2013 : 12:19 p.m.
he got the maximum
Kyle Feldscher
Fri, May 10, 2013 : 12:18 p.m.
Billy - I remember this. I believe the reason that comment was deleted was because that fact would not be corroborated by police at the time. We asked but they would not confirm that information. Generally, when a comment is posted with information that cannot be confirmed by official sources (police, medical personnel, etc.), it's taken down.
Ricebrnr
Fri, May 10, 2013 : 10:51 a.m.
"Every second was desperate." Yep and often you can't wait for rescue minutes or more away. Good on you for affecting self resue. Clearly you have some fortitude and I am sure you will be able to move past this. lessons to be learned for the rest of us, hope people pay attention.