Baltimore County man sentenced in assault connected to 2022 Super Bowl party stabbing
A Baltimore County man was sentenced to time served Monday in a case connected to a stabbing at a Super Bowl party at Hopewell Manor Apartments west of Halfway.
Tione Kenneth Blake, 44, of Parkville in Baltimore County, entered an Alford plea Monday in Washington County Circuit Court to the second-degree assault of Devon Louis Wade on Feb. 13, 2022.
An Alford plea does not admit guilt, but acknowledges the prosecution has enough evidence to obtain a conviction.
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Defense attorney Deborah Warner-Dennis said Blake entered an Alford plea because he's asserting his innocence, but acknowledges the state could present a case to support its prosecution.
Warner-Dennis told Judge Brett R. Wilson the investigation determined the blood on Blake's clothes did not match the victim.
When a deputy with the Washington County Sheriff's Office was interviewing Blake at the scene and saw him later at the sheriff's office, where Blake was taken, the deputy noticed what appeared to be blood on Blake's pants, T-shirt and tank top, according to charging documents.
Blake had told officers he tried to break up a fight, both Warner-Dennis and Assistant State's Attorney Chris McCormack told the judge.
According to charging documents, when a deputy asked Blake if he saw anything happen, he said, "'Yeah, but I aint a snitch.'" After the deputy told him "someone was messed up," Blake said he saw some kids drinking and "some dudes fighting," charging documents state.
When asked if he saw the fight, Blake allegedly said, "'I seen the fight, tried to break it up, aint gonna lie,'" according to charging documents.
Warner-Dennis told the judge she unsuccessfully litigated issues with the photo array used for Wade to identify Blake.
In a motion to suppress that Warner-Dennis filed in February this year, she argued that Wade's recollection of the suspect's identity would have diminished since the photo array was presented to Wade 10 months after the incident.
As part of the plea deal, other charges were dropped including attempted second-degree murder. The maximum penalty for that attempted murder charge would have been 30 years in state prison.
The maximum penalty for second-degree assault is 10 years and a $2,500 fine.
Per the plea deal, Wilson agreed to a sentence for Blake of three years with all suspended except for the 595 days Blake had already served.
The judge ordered Blake to be on supervised probation for a year.
Blake did not address the judge during the sentencing portion of the hearing.
When Blake was asked after the hearing if he had a comment, Warner-Dennis spoke up, saying her client did not have any comment.
The Herald-Mail inquired Monday with the sheriff's office whether authorities were still investigating Wade's stabbing or whose blood was on Blake.
Sgt. Carly Hose, spokesperson for the sheriff's office, said on Tuesday that the case was closed.
What reportedly happened at the Super Bowl party with the stabbing
A man called 911 around 10:50 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, to say his friend had been stabbed and he was driving him to the hospital, according to charging documents.
A sheriff's office sergeant met their Jeep Cherokee near Halfway Boulevard and Stotler Road and found Wade had been stabbed in his left shoulder and had lost "a significant amount of blood," according to charging documents. The sergeant stuffed the wound with gauze and continued to render aid until emergency medical services personnel took Wade to Meritus Medical Center east of Hagerstown.
Wade needed two blood transfusions and treatment for a broken shoulder blade, a broken rib and a bruised lung. His doctor told police that hospital staff resuscitated him aggressively and that he would have died from rapid blood loss if he had not been admitted, the document states.
Wade's friend told investigators that Wade was stabbed during a dispute with another partygoer while they were attending the Super Bowl party at an apartment in the 11300 block of Cici Way. The friend said he didn't see the altercation, but he knew Wade needed medical attention so he tried to control the bleeding while taking Wade from the apartment and began driving him to the hospital, according to the document.
The woman who lived at the apartment said she hosted the party, but didn't see an altercation. Two other women there also said they didn't see an altercation, and none would provide information about the attendees, court documents state.
Wade told police he argued with an unknown white female who had used the "N-word" and that "he postured at the female," but didn't attempt to strike her. He said that once the argument ended, he was told to leave the apartment, the document states.
Wade said he was attacked when he stopped in the kitchen to prepare a plate of food to take with him. He said he tried to fight the attacker and was stabbed during the struggle with what appeared to be a 6-inch knife. He gave investigators a description of the attacker, but said he didn't recall any other details other than his friend attempting to take him to the hospital, the document states.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Maryland man sentenced in case tied to stabbing at Super Bowl party
