Stabbing case ends with plea to assault count

A Spokane man who stabbed a neighbor in the throat pleaded no contest Friday to second-degree assault.

Gary S. Sunderland, 44, also known as Gary Sunderlin, had been charged with first-degree assault in the Jan. 24, 2003, stabbing of Arthur Jeremy Avila, who was hospitalized with a lacerated trachea and esophagus.

Deputy Prosecutor Larry Steinmetz said he agreed to the plea bargain because most of the witnesses were drunk or under the influence of medicines.

Sunderland has a history of schizophrenia but was found mentally competent to stand trial. If the case had gone to trial, there would have been conflicting testimony about whether Sunderland was sane at the time of the crime.

Assistant Public Defender Matthew Harget said Spokane psychologist E. Clay Jorgenson concluded that alcohol triggered a “psychotic incident” when Sunderland stabbed Avila. Sunderland told Jorgenson he believed he was fighting an al Qaeda terrorist and would be considered a hero, Harget said.

Eastern State Hospital doctors concluded that Sunderland knew what he was doing when he stabbed Avila, Harget acknowledged.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Linda Tompkins sentenced Sunderland to a maximum-standard 29 months in prison, including a one-year enhancement for use of a deadly weapon. She also ordered him to pay $27,681 in restitution.