Aug 20, 2008 - 04:06:44 CDT
A Bismarck man has been sentenced to 2½ years in prison for stabbing his mother's boyfriend.South Central District Judge Sonna Anderson sentenced Tyson Redstone, 20, to five years with all but 30 months suspended for Class C felony aggravated assault on Tuesday.
Redstone originally had been charged with Class Afelony attempted murder for the Nov. 11 incident but pleaded guilty in May to the reduced charge. The crime carried a minimum mandatory penalty of two years in prison because a weapon was used.
Anderson also gave Redstone suspended sentences of 10 years and one year, respectively, for Class Afelony gross sexual imposition and Class Amisdemeanor delivery of alcohol to a minor. He will be on supervised probation for five years following his release from prison. In that case, which is unrelated to the assault, Redstone was accused of having sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl in August 2007 when he was 19.
Redstone was accused of stabbing his mother's 36-year-old boyfriend in the chest during a fight in south Bismarck on Nov. 11. According to a police report, the man began walking toward police with the knife still dangling from his shirt. He was taken to a local hospital, as was Redstone's mother, who had minor cuts. She was treated and released.
Redstone's attorneys, public defenders Todd Schwarz and Travis Finck, argued that Redstone was acting in defense of his mother. Redstone had been drinking and "got himself in the middle" of an argument between his mother and her boyfriend.
"He stepped in to protect his mom," Todd Schwarz said.
Redstone's actions were not appropriate but can be explained by his upbringing, Todd Schwarz said.
Finck, who represented Redstone on the gross sexual imposition and delivery of alcohol charges, said Redstone met the girl while at the mall, and she indicated she was nearly 18 and wanted to party. They met up that night, and the girl was involved in sexual acts with several people at the party, Finck argued.
"He thought she was possibly of age," Finck said.
He also argued that Redstone's sex offender risk level, measured as moderate to high, was unnecessarily high and based on circumstances that did not seem important to the situation.
Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Justin Schwarz recommended Redstone served five years on the aggravated assault charge, with suspended sentences and probation to follow on the other charges. He said he felt Redstone was portraying himself as the victim in both cases rather than take responsibility for himself.
"I just don't see Mr. Redstone as a victim in either of these cases," Justin Schwarz said.
Anderson agreed that Redstone is not a victim and does not show much empathy for his victims. However, she said his background explains, though does not justify, his actions.
"The defendant is a result of his upbringing," she said.
(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)
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