Document text
An Ashland man was sentenced to five years in prison for stabbing a man he found having sex with his wife. Benjamin Charles Williamson, 34, of the 1300 block of Quincy Street, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Jackson County Circuit Court to attempt to commit first-degree assault. He had originally been indicted for attempted murder, first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, third-degree assault and fourth-degree assault. On the night of Nov. 3, 2014, Williamson came home and found Sean Gardner and his wife having sex on a couch. He snapped, grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Gardner four or five times, according to the Jackson County District Attorney's Office. He then went outside and called 911 to report he had stabbed someone, said his defense attorney, Michael Bertholf. "He wanted to take responsibility. It's a tragic case all around," Bertholf said. "It would be a shocker for anyone to walk in and see what was happening." Williamson said he is the father of three boys and has been a hard-working person all his life. "As much as this scares me, I'm ready to take responsibility for what I've done," he said in a shaky voice in court. Williamson said he prays for Gardner and hopes for forgiveness. Gardner had been taken to Rogue Regional Medical Center with multiple stab wounds. "This was a horrible mistake," Williamson said. Judge Kelly Ravassipour said while Williamson's reaction to finding his wife with another man was tragic, he had taken responsibility for his actions from the beginning when he called 911. That's what helped the prosecution and defense negotiate a plea agreement that saved him from a Measure 11 sentence in which he could have received 20 years to life in prison, Ravassipour said. "You've got a really good attitude going up there," she said, referring to his coming time in an Oregon prison. Williamson has been held in jail without bail since Nov. 4, 2014. As he was led out of court, he looked at crying relatives in the audience and made a heart shape with his fingers. A check of Jackson County Circuit Court records shows no other cases involving Benjamin Williamson going back at least five years, except for a landlord/tenant dispute involving him, his wife and a landlord that went to mediation. Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-776-4486 or [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous .