On the street, he?s known as “Oricl” ? the man who proclaims himself Baltimore?s most prolific graffiti artist.
But Kenneth Ellis, 27, was testifying to try to avoid serious jail time on an attempted murder charge Thursday in Baltimore County Circuit Court.
Accused of stabbing a man in the back during a dispute over a kitten, Ellis told jurors he took three knives and stabbed Leyland “Tiger” Mayne in the back twice because he feared for his life.
“They were coming to [expletive] somebody up,” Ellis said. “To beat somebody?s ass, to kill somebody.”
The Aug. 13, 2006, stabbing arose from an argument over whether Ellis kicked Mayne?s kitten while outside a friend?s house in the Lansdowne area.
Ellis testified he only nudged the kitten to keep it from walking into a box, while Mayne contends Ellis kicked the cat.
Mayne then confronted Ellis, and two men began to argue, Ellis testified.
Ellis struck him with a baton, causing Mayne to leave but return with several friends.
Ellis said he grabbed kitchen knives and put Mayne in a bear hug while he stabbed him. Mayne was treated at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center for six stab wounds.
Judge Michael Finifter denied a motion from Ellis? attorney, Margaret Mead, on Thursday to drop the case, saying the stab wounds were “close to the lung” of Mayne. The jury is scheduled to hear closing arguments at 11 this morning.
Ellis pleaded guilty last year to several counts of property destruction. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation and 500 hours of community service, which he was supposed to spend scrubbing away graffiti from city locales.
