Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Joseph Axzavis Stewart, Sr. age 58, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to 11 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for assault with a dangerous weapon, and possession of a dangerous weapon with intent to injure.
The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning and Chief Robert D. MacLean of the United States Park Police.
According to Stewart’s plea agreement, on July 31, 2016, at approximately 9:00 p.m., Stewart stabbed an individual who was seated in the passenger seat of a friend’s truck at a construction site near the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, where the friend worked. Stewart, who worked for the same construction company, previously had a brief romantic relationship with the individual’s friend. After other employees from the construction company intervened, Stewart fled the scene in a gray truck. The victim was transported to the hospital, suffering from stab wounds to the arms and back. As a result of the stabbing, the victim underwent several surgeries and lost partial feeling in both arms. Law enforcement executed a search warrant and recovered the knife Stewart used to stab the victim from Stewart’s gray truck.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the U.S. Park Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hollis R. Weisman and Thomas M. Sullivan, who prosecuted the case.