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After a two-day trial, the jury of four women and two men deliberated for approximately one hour Wednesday before finding 27-year-old Keith Ladrelle Richardson guilty as charged of aggravated battery, a second degree felony, for stabbing a Flagler County man.

Richardson, who is attending school in Jacksonville but has a Bunnell address in the Flagler County Inmate Facility records, was giving the victim a ride to pick up a car for purchase. The victim sitting in the passenger seat fell asleep but was woken when the defendant began stabbing him with a knife.

The motive was to rob the victim of the $4,000 he had for the purchase of a car.

According to the police report, as the victim struggled to undo his seatbelt, Richardson continued stabbing him. The victim later stated he did not know why he was being stabbed.

When the car slowed down as it went off the roadway into a grassy area off Interstate 95 in Flagler County, the victim jumped out of the moving vehicle. The victim suffered several lacerations to the face, hands, and neck. The report states that the victim had to have 200 stitches as a result.

State Attorney R.J. Larizza said, “This was a violent crime motivated by greed. The defendant is a repeat offender who will now reap what he has sowed.”

Sentencing has yet to be scheduled but the defendant faces a minimum mandatory 15-year prison sentence as a prison release reoffender, with no possibility of early release.

The case was tried by Assistant State Attorneys Ken Ulich and Doug Stanford. Circuit Judge Edwin P.B. Sanders said he would likely schedule the sentencing within 30 days.

When the victim escaped, one witness said the defendant got back on the interstate and sped up to speeds of 120 mph.

Larizza said the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office did a great job handling the investigation.

 

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