Medina teen sentenced to 4 years in prison for ‘extremely senseless’ assault
ALBION – A Medina teen was sentenced to 4 years in state prison today by Orleans County Court Judge James Punch after a vicious assault on Nov. 6.
Lucas Porter, 18, admitted to stabbing a Buffalo man near his heart and lung at a house party on Nov. 6 in Ridgeway.
Porter just missed stabbing the man in his heart, but did puncture his lungs. The victim was hospitalized in intensive care for 10 days. He recovered enough to have the charges downgraded from first-degree to second-degree assault.
“This was extremely senseless and a serious situation,” District Attorney Joe Cardone said during sentencing today.
Cardone said that Porter, an all-star football player for Medina’s varsity team, “has many positives in his life.”
Porter’s attorney Nathan Pace said Porter wishes he could rewind those 10-15 seconds.
“We’re grateful the victim has recovered,” Pace said.
Porter accepted a plea deal in Orleans County Court on April 10. Second-degree assault normally carries a maximum of 7 years in state prison. Porter, as part of the plea deal, faced up to 4 years in state prison.
Punch gave Porter the maximum as part of the plea deal.
The judge said this wasn’t Porter’s first felony. Porter had been on probation after being charged with a burglary in Albion in March 2015.
He has been serving a 1- to 3-year sentence at Elmira Correctional Facility for the probation violation. That sentence will run concurrent with the 4-year sentence from today.
“It only takes a few seconds and that’s why you’re here,” Punch said. “In that short period of time you nearly killed someone.”
The judge said Porter’s lack of control makes him dangerous, and a similar crime could happen again.
The judge also set a $25,376 judgement against Porter to pay restitution, including a $22,741 bill to Mercy Flight and nearly $3,000 in other medical costs for the victim.
Porter also needs to pay restitution for damaging a car. That includes a $500 out-of-pocket deductible for the car’s owner and $1,599 to Progressive Insurance.
In addition to the 4 years in prison, Porter was sentenced to 3 years of post-release supervision.
