Champaign man gets 5 years in prison for stabbing acquaintance in the back | News

URBANA — A Champaign man was sentenced to five years in prison for stabbing someone in the back.

Champaign County Judge Roger Webber handed down the sentence Thursday to Joshua L. Williams, 44, after he pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

In exchange for the negotiated plea, the state dismissed one count of armed robbery without a firearm, a class X felony, and one count of possession of a controlled substance.

Police arrested Williams after a man with a stab wound to the left side of his back showed up at a local hospital around 9:30 p.m. on April 8, Assistant State's Attorney Brooke Hinman said.

The victim eventually told police he had been drinking in his apartment with Williams around 7:30 p.m. when Williams became upset and pushed the man against a window, breaking it.

Williams then stabbed the victim in the back with a knife and took his phone.

Bleeding, the man told Williams he wasn't feeling well and needed medical attention. Williams accompanied him to a local hospital, and the victim later identified the defendant on hospital surveillance video, Hinman said.

Officers went to the victim's apartment and found a broken window, blood stains on the floor and a backpack containing items with Williams' name on them.

At Williams' detention hearing in April, Hinman noted that he told officers he pushed the victim against a window because the victim owed him money, and Williams initially claimed the victim slipped while holding the knife and stabbed himself.

Williams had already served 54 days in prison. He faces two to five years in prison for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, a class 3 felony.