AUBURN — A Lewiston man facing up to 30 years in prison for allegedly stabbing his friend in the chest with a barbecue fork has been freed after the victim refused to testify against him in court.
In a move that surprised the entire courtroom, Vincent Turner on Monday invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Authorities say the 42-year-old Turner was stabbed in the chest by 43-year-old Tony Leonard during a drunken brawl in October. Prosecutors say the two-pronged barbecue fork penetrated so deeply into Turner’s chest that it scraped his aorta and landed him in the hospital in critical condition.
The Sun Journal reports that after testifying Monday that he and Leonard were friends, Turner clammed up.
Leonard pleaded no contest to assault and was sentenced to time served.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.