Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Man pleads no contest in homeless attack
By ABHI RAGHUNATHAN
Published March 14, 2007
CLEARWATER - A 24-year-old St. Petersburg man will get prison time in an attack on a slumbering homeless man in Williams Park. John Cutler pleaded no contest Tuesday to a felony charge of aggravated battery. He was arrested on Dec. 30, 2005, for assaulting a homeless man after a night of drinking in Tampa with friends. Rohom Khonsari, who is prosecuting the case for the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office, said Cutler kicked a 56-year-old homeless man named Steven Witt, waking him up. Then, Khonsari said, Cutler stabbed Witt with a knife, cutting his arm. A nearby police officer heard Witt's screams. Judge Joseph Bulone set the sentencing for April 23. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Khonsari said the State Attorney's Office is seeking a prison sentence of seven to 10 years. Times researcher Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report. Abhi Raghunathan can be reached at araghunathan@sptimes.com or 727 893-8472.
[Last modified March 14, 2007, 05:49:56]
Share your thoughts on this story
Comments on this article
|
by Carrie
|
04/23/07 10:07 PM
|
|
I wish the government would take the homeless off the streets, maybe if they didn't scare people so much the world would be better, you can't Judge this man, he made a mistake should he lose 7 years of his life? He's a younge man who made a mistake!
|
|
by Jason
|
03/14/07 03:09 PM
|
|
This guy is going to lose years from his life because he picked on a homelass man. What a waste and such disregard for human life. Maybe when he becomes someone's wife in prison, he'll learn some respect, but I doubt it. Good luck to you, fish!
|
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
