DC Superior Court Judge Jason Park sentenced a man who stabbed his girlfriend in the neck and violated his no contact court order to 84 months on Aug. 13.
Anthony Mason, 57, pleaded guilty on May 15 to assault with a dangerous weapon for his involvement in a domestic violence stabbing on Jan. 26 on the 1100 block of Columbia Road, NW. Mason’s girlfriend at the time sustained injuries during the incident.
During the hearing, Mason pleaded guilty to an additional charge of contempt for violating conditions of his release. Mason wrote a letter to the victim in June despite stay-away and no contact orders filed in January and April.
The prosecution requested Mason be sentenced to the top of the guidelines, which recommended 36-to-78 months of incarceration, based on the violent nature of the crime and his extensive history of violence.
“This is far from an isolated incident,” the prosecutor said.
According to court records, Mason has several cases dating back to 2008, one of which he was convicted for aggravated assault and sentenced to 100 months. That case was also a domestic violence incident.
Prosecutors noted the injuries the victim sustained, saying that one laceration on her neck was severe enough that she had to be sent to a trauma center. According to the prosecutor, the victim still experiences chronic pain from nerve damage sustained during the incident.
The prosecution also asked for a sentence of 180 days for the contempt charge to run concurrently with the assault with a dangerous weapon sentence. They said the victim was scared when she received the letter, worried that Mason was still tracking her.
The defense asked for a sentence of 37 months – notably unusual, defense attorney Darryl Daniels said. He explained, asking that Park impose a sentence of 36 months for the assault charge and a consecutive 30 days for contempt.
Daniels said that in the letter Mason sent the victim, he apologized and said he loves her. He also argued that the victim had a firearm at the time of the incident, which was a reason for Mason’s actions, but not an excuse. Mason repeatedly affirmed to the court that he did not wish to claim self-defense.
“This is markedly different from his prior cases,” Daniels said.
Mason gave a statement to the court, saying that on the day of the incident, he and the victim had been drinking alcohol and taking drugs. He also said he was not on his medication, which helps him calm down. Mason asked to be sent to mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities for part of his sentence.
Judge Park said that considering the severity of the incident and his prior cases, he imposed a sentence at the top of the guidelines for assault with a dangerous weapon, which is 78 months. For the contempt charge, Judge Park also imposed a 180-day sentence to be served consecutively. Mason was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, during which he will be required to comply with drug testing and mental health treatment.
No further dates were set.
