Suspect in Deerfield stabbing sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for September stabbings at Deerfield Village
Todd William Gerheiser, 22, has been sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for the Sept. 16 stabbings of two people at Deerfield Village, 3516 E. Deerfield Rd.
The Greenville native had been charged with two felonious counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and one misdemeanor assault for head butting a victim, a 93-day charge.
“It’s exactly what we had negotiated,” Defense Attorney Thomas Weiss said. “We had agreed during the plea hearing that Todd would be sentenced to a three-year minimum and a 10-year maximum, and the judge went along with that agreement.”
Gerheiser said he has remorse for the victims, their families and his own family following the incident.
“I believe everyone makes mistakes. Everything happens for a reason,” Gerheiser said. “I feel bad. I just don’t remember what happened that night.”
On top of his sentence, Judge Mark H. Duthie said Gerheiser will also have to pay restitution fees once the victims' medical bills are known, which Weiss said are probably between $5,000 to $8,000.
“Todd, at some point, will have to pay some or all of the money back. It’s unclear now how much should be paid back,” Weiss said. “It’s a little unusual. It’s a large amount of money. When it does happen, courts want to make victims as whole as they can be made.”
Duthie also said he plans to ask for substance abuse treatment for Gerheriser, upon prison jurisdiction.
On Friday, Gerheiser was taken to the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center in Jackson, where he will undergo evaluations to determine his security classification, Weiss said.
After 30 to 45 days, he will be moved to a prison based upon his security classification level.
“As a policy, they try to locate prisoners, if they can, to a facility near their home. The family component becomes important,” Weiss said. “Todd’s from Greenville, so there are any number of prison facilities between Muskegon, Grand Rapids, St. Louis he could use.”
As Central Michigan Life previously reported, Gerheiser submitted a no contest plea on Dec. 7 to the Isabella County District Court in response to eight felony charges in September 2012.
He was initially charged with two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, which is punishable by life in prison, but Weiss said in order to be charged with that crime the prosecutor would have to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that Gerheiser went out with the intent to murder.
“We felt confident that wasn’t the case,” Weiss said. “He didn’t go there with the intent to kill anyone.”
Other charges that were dismissed at the plea include two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, punishable by four years in prison or $2,000; one count of carrying a concealed weapon, punishable by five years in prison or $2,500 and one count of carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, punishable by five years in prison or $2,500.
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