Spokane man gets 11 years in prison for near-fatal stabbing

A judge sentenced a 46-year-old Spokane man to 11 years in prison for stabbing a man nearly to death earlier this year in north Spokane.

A jury on Sept. 1 found Barclay D. Bennett guilty of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon before Spokane County Superior Court Judge Michael Price handed down the sentence Dec. 16.

Officers responded around 7:50 p.m. April 12 to 6818 N. Atlantic St. and discovered Ralph Kinerson lying on the ground in front of the residence, according to court documents. Bennett stabbed Kinerson multiple times.

Doctors told police Kinerson’s injuries were “extremely life-threatening and created a high probability of death,” documents say. Kinerson was in satisfactory condition later that week, according to a Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center official.

Kinerson’s friend told police there was a knock at the Atlantic Street residence door and Kinerson opened it to find Bennett trying to get inside. The men got into a physical fight on the ground outside the residence, and Kinerson began to yell, “He’s stabbing me.” Bennett then walked off, the friend told police.

A neighbor said she saw Kinerson and Bennett wrestling on the ground and heard Kinerson yell, “I’m stabbed.”

The sentence included the midpoint of the standard sentencing range, or nine years, plus a two-year deadly weapon enhancement, court records said. Bennett will serve three years of community custody, also known as probation, when he is released from prison.