Lawrence man accused in downtown stabbing, other cases gets a year of probation as part of plea agreement

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured in March of 2022. The center houses the Douglas County District Court and other county services.

A man who was accused of stabbing another man in downtown Lawrence earlier this summer was given a year of probation Thursday in Douglas County District Court in a plea agreement that resolved multiple cases.

Timothy Lamont Joseph Cable, 28, was originally charged with one count of aggravated battery, a mid-level felony, for allegedly cutting a man with a knife during a fight on Aug. 19 in the 200 block of 10th Street.

But on Thursday in Douglas County District Court, Cable pleaded guilty to the lower charge of misdemeanor battery. He also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery in connection with an altercation with his girlfriend on March 29, as well as to a misdemeanor charge of violating a protection order that was part of his bond conditions in the domestic battery case. Chief Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Tatum said Thursday that the protection order violation charge was filed after police learned Cable was still living with his girlfriend.

After the stabbing was reported in August, police said the two men involved in the fight knew each other, and that Cable was arrested while trying to board a bus at Seventh and Vermont streets. Tatum said Thursday that when police arrived at the scene, the victim had a cut on his abdomen and was clearly bleeding.

Before his arrest, Cable had been given a year’s worth of probation for convictions of misdemeanor theft, battery, and domestic battery that occurred in Douglas County in 2022. Tatum said that as part of Cable’s plea agreement, the state would recommend 12 months of probation, with an underlying sentence of 12 months in jail if he violates his probation.

Judge Amy Hanley accepted the plea and imposed the sentence recommended in the agreement. She also reset Cable’s year of probation in the old cases but said it would run concurrently with his new yearlong probation term. She then ordered Cable to get a drug and alcohol evaluation, a mental health evaluation, and to participate in anger management classes.

Hanley also advised Cable that while he may not have been convicted of a felony, the three crimes he pleaded to would be equivalent to a felony for the purposes of calculating his criminal history if he were to commit any crimes in the future.

Cable’s attorney, Hatem Chahine, said he was grateful that he was able to work out an agreement and that Cable needed mental health services that could not be provided by the jail. Cable told the judge that he was now on medication for bipolar disorder, and Chahine said the mental health evaluation Cable would undergo would be “paramount” in his rehabilitation.

In addition to his convictions in 2022, Cable has a conviction in Douglas County from 2013 for misdemeanor battery and drug possession, according to court records. He has been in custody since his arrest in August.

The Journal-World has requested Cable’s booking photo from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.