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What Happens On Facebook Doesn't Stay On Facebook: Online Feud Bleeds Into Real World Stabbing, Teen Sentenced
17-year-old Michael Jason Wilson of Laguna Beach was sentenced to a year in jail and three years probation after pleaded guilty yesterday to "stabbing a rival in a feud that started with traded insults on Facebook," according to Laguna Beach Patch.
Michael Jason Wilson entered his plea to felony assault with a deadly weapon with a sentencing enhancement for inflicting great bodily harm. Two other felony counts of assault with the same sentencing enhancements were dismissed, according to court records. Orange County Superior Court Judge Craig Robison immediately sentenced Wilson to a year in jail and three years of probation, court records show. His attorney, Paul Meyer, declined comment.
Wilson, who was 16-years-old when the attack occurred, was prosecuted as an adult. The victim, after agreeing to meet his at Wilson's house after school, was stabbed in the stomach with a 12-inch carving knife and spent a week in the hospital, say prosecutors. The victim's friends in a nearby car were also injured as they struggled to take away the knife. The defendant was also "accused of also slashing the hands and arms of two boys," causing an injury for one that required surgery.
Had Wilson gone to trial and been convicted as charged the teenager could have faced up to 15 years in state prison.
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