Jury returns guilty verdict in stabbing
A Lakewood man was found guilty of attempted manslaughter and first-degree assault Wednesday in connection with a Longmont stabbing.
John Mark Mckinley, 60, was originally charged with attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault.
But while the jury convicted Mckinley of first-degree assault, they opted for the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter rather than attempted first-degree murder.
The jury deliberated for about five hours before coming back with its verdict at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
“We appreciate the jury’s time and service,” Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a statement. “This verdict is a great outcome in an important and difficult case. I must recognize that the Longmont Police Department
did an outstanding job on this case. As a result of their hard work, the defendant will face serious consequences for stabbing the victim. Our prosecution team worked closely with this victim and is pleased with this outcome.”
Mckinley, who was already in custody at the Boulder County Jail, will be held without bond until sentencing because he was convicted of first-degree assault.
He is set for sentencing on Oct. 7, and faces 10 to 32 years in prison for the first-degree assault count, a Class 3 felony. Attempted manslaughter is a Class 5 felony.
Jurors listened to about two days of testimony before closing arguments Wednesday morning.
According to police, Mckinley stabbed Joshua White in Roosevelt Park on Aug. 28, 2020. White was taken to the hospital with a stab wound to his left chest, but recovered from his injuries.
“He would have died but for the ER doctor,” Boulder Deputy District Attorney Carlos Rueda said.
The stabbing itself, which was caught on surveillance video, is not at dispute. But attorneys in
their closing arguments Wednesday did disagree over whether Mckinley was acting in self-defense and had the mindset required for attempted first-degree murder.
Defense attorney Beth Kelley said the incident started when Mckinley was trying to get White to come out of a bathroom. Kelley said White told Mckinley he would pepper spray him and that he hit Mckinley with the bathroom door as he left.
“There is no doubt Mr. Mckinley felt threatened, he had pepper spray in his face, he got smacked by a door,” Kelley said. “Mr. White busted out of that bathroom with his bicycle, and he busted out in an aggressive way.”
Kelley noted that police later found a can of pepper spray in White’s backpack, and the surveillance video appears to show White holding a similar object in his hand.
“Did he spray it? We don’t know,” Kelley said. “But holding up a can of peppery spray in someone’s face is an aggressive act.”
Kelley said Mckinley, who has post-traumatic stress disorder, likely went into a “dissociative state.”
“It can rigger those fight or flight reactions,” Kelley said. “It makes sense that Mr. Mckinley’s PTSD was triggered, and he perceived a threat from Mr. White.”
But Rueda argued that the video footage shows Mckinley waited until White was walking away before taking a switchblade out of his pocket.
“He takes out that knife behind the victim’s back,” Rueda said. “Because he doesn’t want the victim to have a chance to defend himself.”
Deputy District Attorney Kelsey Waldorf said Mckinley’s actions and movements show that he had time to deliberate and was thinking clearly, noting that he snuck up on White’s blindside and stabbed White just as White turned around.
“That is a strategic approach,” Waldorf said. “He knew exactly what he was doing.”
Waldorf said Mckinley’s actions were also not reasonable as self-defense.
“(White’s) back is turned, he’s walking away,” Waldorf said. “He’s not even looking at the defendant.”