Manhattan ? A Council Grove man was found guilty Friday of trying to kill a Clay County farmer who had discovered the poacher’s illegal hunting party on his land last November.

A Manhattan jury convicted Gene Bitler, 50, of attempted second-degree murder, as well as criminal hunting, contributing to the misconduct of his teenage sons and fleeing and eluding law enforcement.

Bitler faces up to more than 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 5.

Prosecutors accuse Bitler of sneaking up on Marvin Macy after he discovered the truck and stabbing him three times with an eight-inch hunting knife. Macy escaped but was so badly injured that he had to hold his intestines in as he stumbled to a grain truck parked a half-mile away.

Bitler’s defense attorney argued that his client panicked and slashed at Macy to chase him off so he and his sons could leave the area. But prosecutors said Bitler stopped when he saw another vehicle approaching and drove off in Macy’s car while his sons took their pickup, leaving Macy seriously wounded.