Former Pottstown woman heads to prison for stabbing
NORRISTOWN >> A 19-yearold Norristown woman, formerly of Pottstown, will spend time behind prison bars after a jury convicted her of stabbing another woman during an altercation in Norristown.
Charmaen Wright, of the 500 block of Cherry Street, Norristown, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to five to 10 years in a state correctional facility in connection with the 3:30 a.m. May 27, 2017, stabbing incident in the 500 block of Green Street.
Judge Wendy G. Rothstein also ordered Wright to complete five years’ probation following parole, meaning Wright will be under court supervision for 15 years. The judge also ordered that Wright be evaluated for mental health treatment and that she attend classes for coping skills.
The judge said Wright, formerly of the 300 block of Walnut Street in Pottstown, must obtain her general equivalency diploma and attend and successfully complete a vocational training program as conditions of the sentence. Wright was ordered to have no contact with the victim and her family.
During a trial last April, a jury convicted Wright of charges of aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, simple assault and possessing an instrument of crime in connection with the stabbing. The jury, after a three-day trial, acquitted Wright of a charge of attempted murder.
Assistant District Attorney Kelli Ann McGinnis argued for a lengthy state prison term against Wright, describing her conduct as “reckless, blatantly disrespectful and dangerous.”
“Defendant’s crime, in isolation, is inexcusable, violent and life-altering for the victim and the community,” McGinnis argued in a sentencing memorandum.
Wright, who was represented at trial by defense lawyer David Tornetta, was 17 years old at the time of the stabbing but was charged as an adult because of the violent nature of the offense. The victim suffered nine stab wounds and a collapsed lung during the attack and was hospitalized for more than four days, according to court papers.
“The recovery process was painful and frightening. The mental and physical effects of the stabbing still persist,” McGinnis wrote in court papers.
An investigation began when Norristown police responded to the 500 block of Green Street for a report of a disturbance during which a woman was stabbed. When police arrived at the scene, they learned the victim was being transported to a local hospital but they encountered a vehicle operated by Wright attempting to leave the scene, according to the criminal complaint filed by Norristown Detective Louis Geiser.
Police noticed that Wright “was wearing a blood-stained green fleece zippered type jacket” but was uninjured.
“Police spoke with Wright and inquired if she was in the possession of any weapons and Wright advised the officers that she had knives in the vehicle,” Geiser alleged, adding police also noticed blood spatter on Green Street.
Police said a search of the vehicle uncovered two knives and a brick in a knotted plastic shopping bag, according to the criminal complaint.
Witnesses to the altercation identified Wright as the stabber. Witnesses reported they observed Wright and the female victim engaged in a physical fight in the middle of Green Street when Wright brandished a knife and stabbed the victim, according to the arrest affidavit.
When detectives interviewed Wright she admitted that during the altercation she removed a folding knife from her pocket and stabbed the victim before discarding the knife before police arrived. The knife used during the altercation
was not recovered despite two separate K9 searches, court documents indicate.
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“Defendant’s crime, in isolation, is inexcusable, violent and lifealtering for the victim and the community.”
— Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kelli Ann McGinnis