Man gets five years for UA stabbing

A Mifflin Township man has been sentenced to five years in prison for a fatal stabbing behind an Upper Arlington restaurant last year.

Jeffrey B. Harrison, 48, of Perdue Avenue, pleaded guilty and was sentenced Sept. 13 to voluntary manslaughter in the June 11, 2018, death of 31-year-old Charles Mccoy.

The sentence, imposed by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge William Woods, was recommended by prosecuting and defense attorneys as part of a plea agreement.

Mccoy had argued with co-worker Tina Patrick, Harrison’s girlfriend, at the former China Dynasty Restaurant on West Lane Avenue, Assistant Prosecutor Bryan Potter said during the plea hearing. Patrick made a phone call to Harrison, who came to the restaurant to confront Mccoy. Although Harrison told police that he went to the restaurant to make peace, he stabbed Mccoy once in the chest when Harrison their conversation escalated into a physical fight.

Harrison was charged with murder, but defense attorney W.J. Moore filed a motion in July 2018 giving notice that they were exploring a claim of self-defense during “mutual combat.”

Patrick, 59, initially implicated a different man in the stabbing in an effort to protect her boyfriend, which led to the arrest of Jeffery L. Smith, 51, of the South Side. Less than a week later, Upper Arlington police determined that Harrison was the man involved in the stabbing, and charges against Smith were dropped.

Patrick, who shared the Perdue Avenue address with Harrison, pleaded guilty in March to tampering with evidence for misleading investigators. She is awaiting sentencing.

The China Dynasty in Upper Arlington closed in May after 32 years in business. The restaurant’s owners said the closure had nothing to do with the stabbing, but because the founder was ready to retire and not wanting to sign a lengthy lease. The China Dynasty on Route 161 in the Northland area remains open.