Baltimore County Circuit Judge Thomas Bollinger heard David Burton?s story of woe ? how he dropped out of school at 13, turned to heroin, and had a mother who convinced him to commit an armed robbery that almost killed her manager at a Fullerton Denny?s.
But Bollinger didn?t see Burton?s drug addiction as a reason for leniency. He sentenced the 29-year-old man on Tuesday to 70 years in prison for attempted murder.
“There are some who handle [addiction] without hurting other people,” Bollinger said. “… I have to protect the people of this state.”
Burton?s victim, Denny?s manager Michael Fredrick, 52, who came within moments of death last August when Burton stabbed him 32 times outside his restaurant,told the judge not to have sympathy on his attacker.
“We can no longer allow them to use drugs as an excuse to shield their actions from society,” Fredrick said.
Fredrick then told the judge of his injuries that caused him to spend six weeks in the hospital and undergo four surgeries.
Fredrick said he has lost 30 percent of his use of both hands and has sustained permanent lung, intestine and colon damage. He will likely have to change his careers because of his injuries, a move that could cause financial hardship on his wife Sherrie, who walks with a cane.
“My disabled wife who once had a husband and provider with a career is now facing an uncertain future,” he said.
Before being sentenced, Burton apologized to Fredrick.
“I?m sorry to Mr. Fredrick for all the pain and suffering he went through,” he said.
But Fredrick didn?t believe the remorse was genuine.
“Even while facing a charge of first-degree attempted murder, he would swivel around in his chair and laugh or smirk to his friends, showing absolutely no remorse for what he has done,” Fredrick said.
Fredrick?s life was saved, in part, by the Rev. Eric Lee Douglas and Baltimore County Det. William Long Jr. who tied tourniquets on him in the moments after his stabbing.
“I would have done the same for anybody,” Long said Tuesday. “He?s thanked me several times and he?s very welcome.”
