Hagerstown man sentenced for his role in 2021 case where victim stabbed and shot

A Washington County Circuit Court judge gave a Hagerstown co-defendant a 10-year sentence last week, suspending all but time already served for his role in a 2021 assault in which the victim was stabbed and shot.

Then Judge Mark K. Boyer told Harold Lucas King III, who was 18 at the time of the crime, that if King III could show progress toward earning his GED and getting a job, he would consider changing the sentence to probation before judgment.

The case involves a former Hagerstown man, Tyrone Anthony Jenkins, who was stabbed and shot in a family dispute and who ended up charged himself. Both King III, now 21, and his father, Harold Lucas King Jr., 44, were charged.

King III pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in May 2022, according to court records. Other charges, including attempted murder, were dropped as part of the plea deal.

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In mid-August, charges, including attempted murder, were dismissed against King Jr., who had been accused of shooting Jenkins, after a prosecutor essentially told the judge the victim wasn't cooperating.

Assistant State's Attorney Chris McCormack, in court Sept. 27 for King III's case, told Boyer that King Jr.'s case didn't proceed to trial and the victim in the case "went to New York and suggested I take a trip I wasn't inclined to."

A delayed sentencing had been agreed to for King III if he testified against his father, McCormack said.

In King III's favor, McCormack said that in his two years on this case, the younger King had "not come to the attention of my office or the court."

Defense attorney David Harbin said his client's mother was being attacked when King III "grabbed a sharp object," defended his mom and called his dad, who arrived and without King III's knowledge, shot the victim.

Harbin said the victim survived and King III spent 34 days in jail before getting out on bond.

King III "came to the court, did things the right way," Harbin said.

Harbin said his client would have had a good case for defense of others or could have gone too far.

Boyer noted the victim had stab wounds and was shot.

McCormack acknowledged that King III alleging he was defending his mother would have been an issue if the matter had gone to trial, but he didn't recall this being a case of the victim hitting King III's mother.

Harbin said in the heat of the moment, seeing someone's hands on your mother, "you react a certain way."

Harbin said his client doesn't have a prior criminal record. He asked for probation before judgment with the probation being unsupervised.

"I only did this because I felt like my mom, her life was in danger," King III told the judge. "I do take full accountability and I'm sorry."

King III, answering Harbin's questions, said he was going to stay out of trouble and try to find a job. He said he's been helping his mother care for her newborn.

Boyer cited a witness' lack of cooperation, the case's peculiar circumstances and that King III might have had an appropriate defense.

In addition to the suspended sentence, Boyer ordered King III to be on probation for 18 months with the first six months supervised.

He told King III he wanted him to get his GED and perform 80 hours of community service with the only excuse for not performing the community service being if King III got a job.

The judge told King III he "needs to be working and a gainful member of society."

What allegedly happened at King III's home on May 14, 2021?

Hagerstown police went to King III's home in the 800 block of Washington Avenue at 12:14 p.m. on May 14, 2021, for a report of a stabbing, according to charging documents. When they arrived, officers found Jenkins suffering from stab wounds to his back and two gunshot wounds, one to the arm and the other to his forehead.

Jenkins told police he was arguing with his girlfriend — King III's mother — when King III intervened, grabbing a knife and stabbing him, according to court records. He then saw the younger King use his phone and a few minutes later a man arrived in a car.

The elder King cocked a handgun as he approached the house, according to Jenkins' account in charging documents.

Jenkins said he and the father began fighting. Jenkins' girlfriend attempted to break it up and Jenkins said the elder King shot him.

The girlfriend told police she and Jenkins were arguing and her son got involved when the argument turned physical, according to court records. As Jenkins and Harold King III were fighting, the woman noticed Jenkins was "bleeding profusely" from his back.

When the fight broke up, she went into the backyard with Jenkins, at which point a black car drove up in the alley behind the home. A man got out and began firing a silver handgun, the woman told police, although "she was unsure of who the shooter was and would not provide a clear description," according to the charging document.

The son told police Jenkins was fighting with his mother. Jenkins allegedly struck him in the face and he reacted by pulling a knife and stabbing Jenkins as they were struggling, according to the charging document.

King III told police he called his father to "handle him," meaning Jenkins. He also told police he hoped his father would come over and "beat up" Jenkins.

Jenkins was charged with assault stemming from the incident with his girlfriend that day.

In July 2021, Jenkins entered an Alford plea to second-degree assault in Washington County District Court, according to court records.

An Alford plea does not admit guilt, but acknowledges the prosecution has enough evidence to obtain a conviction.

A District Court judge sentenced Jenkins to a year incarceration, suspending all but 65 days time served, according to court records. Jenkins was put on 18 months supervised probation.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Maryland man sentenced for his role in case where man stabbed and shot