A Concord man was sentenced to six months in jail and given suspended prison time for stabbing a bar patron and holding a knife in the area of another man’s neck.
Kyle Anderson, 35, recently pleaded guilty to felony counts of reckless conduct and second-degree assault in connection with the incident in the billiards room of the Draft Sports Bar & Grill in the early-morning hours of Oct. 20. Anderson reached a plea deal with county prosecutors to resolve the case around the same time a grand jury handed up indictments against him in Merrimack County Superior Court.
As part of the deal, Anderson was credited with 96 days already served. Attorneys said Friday that Anderson will likely be released from custody in less than a month as long as he remains of good behavior.
Concord police arrested Anderson outside his apartment on Halloween night, almost 12 days after the incident unfolded in the basement of the bar at 67 S. Main St.
Police said Anderson frequented the Draft and showed up on the evening of Oct. 19 with his girlfriend. He had not previously met either of the men involved in the altercation, including one of whom suffered serious injuries that required surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
“It was by far the most traumatizing experience I’ve ever been in,” Jordan Graham wrote in a victim impact statement submitted to the court. “There was a period of time for a few hours, I wasn’t sure if I was going to live.”
Graham was stabbed in the area of his right ribs. He said his lungs will never be the same and that he gets winded after “running up a simple flight of stairs.”
Video surveillance footage captured Anderson’s arrival and his movements within the Draft leading up to the violent altercation. It shows Anderson bumping into a woman with his buttock before exchanging words with a man who proceeds to punch Anderson in the chest. Anderson responds by grabbing the man’s groin while almost simultaneously reaching for a knife.
One witness later told police that Anderson said to the woman, “You choose, do your friends want to die or do they want to live?”
Anderson then approached Graham – who’d been on the sidelines of that initial dispute – and stabbed him three times, authorities said.
Defense attorney Jim Rosenberg said at an initial bail hearing in November that key elements of the altercation took place outside the frame of video surveillance. He said what is not shown is the stabbing victim on top of Anderson on the basement floor.
“In the defendant’s eyes, it was him against the rest of the room,” he said.
Anderson suffered a swollen left eye and a cut on his nose but initially told police that his injuries were unrelated to the stabbing. Rosenberg provided further details to the court in November, saying Anderson suffered a broken nose and a concussion.
As part of the plea deal, Anderson agreed to restitution to cover the cost of Graham’s uninsured medical expenses. The Merrimack County Attorney’s Office has 30 days from the date of Monday’s sentencing hearing to file a more detailed expense report if appropriate. Anderson can file an objection if he believes certain medical costs were unrelated to the stabbing.
Rosenberg said in a statement Friday that Anderson regrets his role in the incident at the Draft and has taken responsibility in court for his actions.
“He is grateful to have put this evening behind him and appreciates the love and support shown to him by his friends and family during what has been a difficult time for them,” Rosenberg wrote.
Anderson, a Concord native, had prior convictions for driving while intoxicated, marijuana possession and criminal mischief; however, this case marks the first time he has been convicted of a violent felony-level offense.
(Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 369-3319 or at adandrea@cmonitor.com.)