There will be no jail time for a Starkville woman accused of cutting a work supervisor on the face with a box cutter last November.
On Tuesday, 47-year-old Brenda Poe pleaded guilty to the charge of mayhem in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court.
The Starkville Daily News previously reported that on Nov. 10, 2017, Poe attempted to get the phone from the victim, Keith Livingston, who was her supervisor at the Family Dollar store on North Jackson Street.
With the box cutter in her hand, Poe then proceeded to hold it open and cut the victim on the right side of his face.
Assistant District Attorney Marc Amos said during Poe’s hearing that the blade of the specific type of box cutter could only be exposed if the person holding it activated the blade. Livingston was treated for injuries and released shortly thereafter.
Poe was initially charged with aggravated assault, but the charge was reduced to mayhem once it made it to the higher court and she entered a plea bargain.
Circuit Judge Lee Howard then suspended a five-year prison sentence Poe, who will be on probation for that time.
She is ordered to pay restitution to OCH Regional Medical Center behalf of Livingston in the amount of $3,032.75, to cover the cost of his medical treatment. Beginning on Aug. 1, Poe must pay $100 each month toward the restitution.
She will also have to pay a fine in the amount of $500 along with court costs.
OTHER CIRCUIT COURT CASES
• A Starkville man facing seven counts of residential burglary plead guilty to three of the charges in exchange for the four other charges to be retired. Keyontay Young, 20 was sentenced to three consecutive eight-year prison sentences, with three years suspended and five to serve on each of the three counts. Young was charged for the string of residential burglaries last May and a grand jury indicted him in January 2018.
• 36-year-old Oktibbeha County native Andrell Bean will have to spend a year in the county jail, but avoided significant prison time after entering a guilty plea to a grand larceny charge he received last year. Bean confessed to stealing a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban from the residence of Christopher Harris on Rock Hill Road in Oktibbeha County. Circuit Judge Lee Howard sentenced Andrell to four years in prison, but suspended it in favor of probation and one year in the Oktibbeha County Jail.
• Circuit Judge Jim Kitchens will wait to decide the short term future 19-year-old area woman who admitted to using methamphetamine since she was 15 years old. Winter Hurst, who said her parents live in Maben, shed tears as she pleaded with Kitchens to admit her to the pre-trial diversion program after she was charged and indicted with possession of less than two grams of meth in October 2017. Kitchens recommended finding Hurst a bed at a residential treatment facility as opposed to letting her out of jail and into a pre-trial diversion program that yields mixed results for high risk addicts. Kitchens also discussed Hurst’s mental health issues, for which she takes medication. Being an addict who also takes medication for an underlying mental illness is classified, according to Kitchens, as a “dual diagnosis” - a condition that some recovery programs will not accept.
• A hearing date has been set for Thursday in the case of a Starkville man accused of sexual battery and other charges. The hearing will determine if 35-year-old James Bardwell, Jr. should have a mental health exam performed before his case moves forward. He is accused of accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in September 2017. Bardwell is also facing charges of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon as well as habitual offender. Thursday’s hearing date is set for 9 a.m. in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court.