Mail Tribune News - Stabber gets five-year term

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Stabber gets five-year term A 22-year-old man who stabbed an Ashland man who took pity on him was sentenced Friday to more than five years in prison. Tracy Shawn Jones pleaded guilty to second-degree assault charges in the March 5 attack on a 55-year-old Ashland man. The man, Charles Friesen, had invited Jones, who was a transient, into his home for food and shelter. Friesen was stabbed four times in the back with a paring knife. He was in Rogue Valley Medical Center for three days. He was also in the courtroom Friday. Jones was arrested March 25 in Salt Lake City, Utah, on marijuana possession charges. Police ran a routine warrants check and found he was wanted here in the stabbing case. Jones was facing two counts of assault, one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and one count of theft. Second-degree assault was the most serious charge and the others were dismissed in return for a guilty plea. Under Measure 11, Jones was sentenced to 70 months in state prison. He was also ordered to pay $500 in restitution to help defray the costs of his extradition from Utah. Mail Tribune Copyright �  The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA