Man convicted in stabbing case

Suspect enters Alford plea of guilty to felony counts stemming from knife fight

By Joe Beck -- jbeck@nvdaily.com

FRONT ROYAL -- A charge of attempted second-degree murder against a 21-year old man was dismissed Tuesday after he entered an Alford plea of guilty to two other felonies in the stabbing of another man.

Circuit Judge Dennis L. Hupp ordered a pre-sentence report on Michael J. Guiliani Jr. and scheduled a sentencing hearing for March 13. Guiliani was also convicted of a probation violation related to a grand larceny conviction.

Guiliani, of 821 Stonewall Drive, had been scheduled to go on trial in the stabbing case Monday. Instead, he was convicted of unlawful wounding and stabbing someone in the commission of a felony after entering his pleas.

Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, although the prosecution and defense agreed to ask that he serve a total of no more than three years on all counts.

The charge of unlawful wounding is a reduction from an original charge of malicious wounding.

"My client maintains his innocence and felt he had valid defenses," said Nancie Kie, Guiliani's attorney.

An Alford plea amounts to an admission by the defendant that the prosecution could probably win a conviction against him, although he continues to claim he is innocent.
Guiliani was convicted of stabbing Bruce R. Alexander Jr. with a kitchen knife during a fight July 24 at 821 E. Stonewall Drive, Guiliani's residence. The knife lodged inside Alexander, and Guiliani fled on foot.

Kie said hostility between Guiliani and Alexander dated back weeks before the stabbing. Alexander, 21, is charged with misdemeanor assault against Guiliani in a fight on July 1. He is scheduled to go on trial Feb. 10.

Guiliani's trial had been initially scheduled for late November, but was postponed after Hupp ruled the prosecution had to produce evidence sought by Kie, including two photographs lost by Front Royal police. The department sent a memory card to the Virginia Department of Forensic Science to see if they could be recovered.

Kie said Tuesday the agency recovered 900 to 1,000 images, none of which were the two she had been seeking. A motion she filed earlier said she was seeking photos of Guiliani "to document the injuries he sustained" during his struggle with Alexander.