Document text
60 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, September 19, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 3, 2004 Guilty verdict in gruesome stabbing By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune A White City man is guilty of nearly disemboweling a neighbor in a July street fight. Terry Dale Wilson, 41, was convicted in Jackson County Circuit Court Thursday of first- and second-degree assault. Jurors did not believe Wilson’s claim that he sliced open 32-year-old Thomas Gene Ganes in self-defense. "This guy was gutted like an animal," said Tim Barnack, deputy district attorney for Jackson County. Ganes sparked the July 9 argument when he called Wilson a bitch, jurors heard. The two crossed paths near the intersection of Hale Way and Antelope Road as Wilson was headed to a friend’s house with a half-case of Ice House beer purchased at a nearby convenience store. Wilson testified to being intoxicated. Police said he was impaired by the alcohol. A teenage neighbor told the court that he saw Wilson shove Ganes and then reach into his pants pocket and strike at the man. After the two struggled, Ganes walked away from Wilson. Wilson caught up with the neighbor boy, telling him that he had stabbed Ganes, jurors heard. Advertisement Ganes initially didn’t think he was hurt, but said he saw blood seeping through his shirt as he headed home. Police and paramedics arrived at a White City trailer park to see Ganes’ intestines spilling from an approximately 8-inch-long slash extending upward from his navel. He spent several days in the hospital and later had to return to treat internal swelling. Although the weapon was never found, Barnack said he believed Wilson attacked Ganes with a stringing knife, a claw-shaped blade that fits between the knuckles and is commonly used on farms to cut wire from hay bales. Ganes described such a weapon to police, and his wound was consistent with the design of a stringing knife, Barnack added. Wilson testified that he worked on a horse ranch at the time of the crime. Wilson told jurors Ganes was the first to pull a knife and slash at him. He acted in self-defense when he stabbed Ganes with a folding blade attached to a multi-tool kept in a pouch on his belt, Wilson testified. Wilson said he hid the multi-tool following the fight, and his attorney later recovered it. Although he testified that he did not clean it, no blood was found on the retractable knife. Police did find on Ganes a four-inch-long, curved knife typically used to skin game. Ganes said he carried the blade for protection. Wilson will hear his sentence next week. He is subject to a minimum prison term of seven years and six months under the state’s mandatory sentencing law, Measure 11. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities