A 25-year-old woman connected with the attempted throat slashing of a Sterling man pleaded guilty to a felony assault charge Feb. 8 in Kenai Superior Court as part of a plea arrangement.
Ayanna Nelson was charged with first-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault. Nelson’s plea agreement stipulated if she pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of third degree assault, a Class C felony, she would be sentenced to four years in jail with three years suspended and the attempted murder charge would be dropped.
Judge Carl Bauman accepted Nelson’s change of plea and set the case for sentencing for March 27 at the Kenai Courthouse.
On Sept. 6, 2012, Nelson allegedly conspired with Dianna Steger, a friend, to lure Edward Matthews into a car to assault him with a knife, according to court records.
Nelson hid under laundry bags in the back seat as Steger drove the three toward the laundromat following a disagreement.
Nelson then grabbed Matthews, put a knife to his neck and threatened to kill him, according to court records. Court records allege Nelson and Steger had been drinking prior to the incident.
Investigating documents from the Alaska State Troopers indicate Nelson said she was trying to protect Steger from Matthews, but she only planned on scaring him. In the same document, Steger told troopers she did not know Nelson had a knife.
Troopers indicated Matthews had three cuts on his neck ranging in length from 6.5 centimeters long to 11 centimeters long and varying in depth.
The plea agreement also stipulates Nelson will serve three years probation and have no contact with Matthews or Steger.
Brian Smith can be reached at brian.smith@peninsulaclarion.com.
Comments (7)
Add commentwhat a shame
Just a small slap on the wrist for threating/trying to murder someone. Her lawyers should be ashamed of themselves for being such low life.
Justice Was not served!
Justice was not served in this case. That is shameful, the Judge, and prosecuters should be ashamed of themselves! This shows that the justice system does NOT work!
Centimeters?
In America we describe wound length in inches. I haven't been informed that we have gone to the metric system yet.
Medical Metric
1.77165 to 4.33071 inches, medical measurements are metric.
In the various medical fields, metric measurements are used more often than are standard American units. If you do crucial work such as measuring out medicines or collecting bodily fluids, it’s vital to know how to work with the metric system. Initially, metric units may seem confusing or difficult to work with, but they are actually very straightforward. Because the metric system is based on units of 10, calculations involving multiplication or division are very easy.
It is a slap on the wrist
It is a shame that she only received a slap on the wrist. Same thing happens to sexual perverts. They give them probation! These criminals get free attorneys, and then the attorney fights hard enough and they are let free, well maybe a tiny amount of time and probation. Criminals need prison time!