Bangor man gets 5 years for stabbing> Sentence would have been harsher if attack was racially motivated, justice says

BANGOR — A Bangor man convicted of stabbing another man on Main street in Bangor last fall was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison and four years probation.

In sentencing David Jack Tuesday morning Justice Margaret Kravchuk told the court that if there had been evidence that Jack’s knifing of Jonathon Burgess was racially motivated the sentence would have been more severe.

Burgess, an 18-year-old black man from Carmel, was stabbed on Sept. 16, 1995, as he was walking with friends near Patten and Main streets. The incident resulted in allegations that the stabbing was racially motivated and prompted an investigation by the local chapter of the NAACP.

The NAACP issued a statement publicly weeks after the incident saying they found no indication that the stabbing was racial and there was no such evidence admitted during Jack’s trial last January.

Kravchuk sentenced Jack, who was convicted of Class B aggravated assault, to five years in prison with one year suspended. She also ordered him to four years probation. In a rather unusual move, she ordered that Jack begin reporting to his probation officer immediately, rather than when he was released from prison.

Penobscot County Deputy District Attorney Michael Roberts said that because of continuing cutbacks in prison counseling programs, Kravchuk was concerned that Jack would not receive any counseling from the Department of Corrections unless probation began immediately.

Jack will receive credit for the six months he has already served in jail since the September attack. Combined with good time, he will most likely serve about two years in jail.

Burgess was hospitalized because of his injuries and a doctor testified at Jack’s trial that the stab wound was serious and damaged Burgess’ intestine.

The doctor said Burgess had fully recovered from the wound.