photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. 11th St., is pictured Sept. 15, 2018.

A Lawrence man convicted of a misdemeanor and a low-level felony in a stabbing case was sentenced to 17 months in prison on Friday.

Brian Samuel Stubbs, 25, was originally charged with attempted first-degree murder in the stabbing of a 38-year-old man in March 2021 at an apartment on West 24th Street. But last month, a jury found him not guilty of the attempted murder charge and convicted him of two lesser charges instead: interfering with an officer, a level 9 nonperson felony, and criminal use of a weapon, a misdemeanor.

At a preliminary hearing in April 2021, the man who was stabbed testified that Stubbs had come to his apartment around midnight on March 19. He said Stubbs banged on his door while he was trying to go to sleep. After opening the door, the man said, Stubbs stabbed him in the abdomen and then entered the apartment and began hitting him. During Stubbs’ trial, defense attorney Josh Luttrell argued that Stubbs stabbed the man in self-defense after a fight broke out between them.

On Friday, Judge Kay Huff gave Stubbs the maximum possible sentence; 17 months for the felony charge and 12 months for the misdemeanor charge. The sentences will run concurrently, and Stubbs will also have 12 months of post-release supervision.

Luttrell argued Friday that Stubbs had a strong family support system and should be given less than the maximum sentence. He said he thought that Stubbs “understands (that) the situation and the people he has been hanging out with have only brought him before this court.”

Deputy District Attorney Joshua Seiden, meanwhile, argued for the maximum sentence. He said that Stubbs had a recent history of battery charges, and that he thought Stubbs was still a danger to the community.

Stubbs was returned to the Douglas County Jail until he can be transferred to serve his prison sentence. He has been credited for 71 days of time served, and his public defender fee of $9,126 was waived.