Lane sent to prison for stabbing

Stabbing someone 17 times is "inexplicable," a Placer County judge told an Auburn defendant Wednesday morning. But Michael Lane's prior good record and strong support from friends and family influenced Judge Colleen Nichols to issue Lane a lesser state prison term, she said. Michael Lane, who pleaded no contest to assault with a deadly weapon and admitted to an allegation of causing great bodily harm in November, was sentenced to three years in state prison Wednesday.The charges stem from an early morning altercation March 17, 2008, during which Lane stabbed then 21-year-old Britton Reed multiple times in a parking lot on Cleveland Street in Auburn. In his statement to the court, Lane told Nichols that he wishes he could change what happened that day."There's not a day that goes by that I don't feel remorse or wish I hadn't done something different," Lane said. Lane said he "did everything he could" to get away from Reed when he was "ferociously" attacked."I honestly can't say what I was thinking," Lane said, referencing when he was stabbing Reed. "I just did what I thought was necessary." Nichols responded afterward saying Lane's statement did not excuse the fact that he responded with deadly force to a fight in which there was no deadly force. She added that if Reed, who is still suffering the effects of his serious injuries, Prosecutor Jeff Wilson said, had died, "We would not be having this conversation." "Seventeen stab wounds is beyond any explanation," Nichols said. "Yet you sit here today and tell me you were just defending yourself and frankly I'm going to tell you this Mr. Lane: That's just nonsense." The good part, Nichols said, is that Lane showed evidence of being a productive member of society and had the support from family and friends in the form of 10 to 15 letters to Nichols. She said if not for those things, she would've kept her preliminary decision of a five-year state prison term. Prior to Nichols' decision, attorneys argued the circumstances of the fight.Videotapes revealed that both men were inside Bob and Betty's 160 Club that night and were seen leaving the bar with separate friends and in separate directions. Prosecutor Jeff Wilson argued that Lane was making statements that invoked Reed to cross the street to physically fight Lane. Defense attorney Pat McCarthy said there is only a slight suggestion of "some conversation" between Reed and Lane prior to the fight. Instead, he said his client was trying to get into his truck and go home when Reed attacked Lane from behind. McCarthy suggested that Reed's .24 blood alcohol level at the time contributed to his attack on Lane. McCarthy said of the thousands of cases he's handled in his 41-year career, this one "stands out heads and shoulders in its unique characteristics." "There is no question that injuries suffered by Mr. Reed were significant, serious and perhaps life threatening," McCarthy said. "There is absolutely no doubt that but for (Reed's) criminal behavior, this would have never happened." Wilson acknowledged that while Reed made a "stupid" decision to engage in a fight, he will forever pay the price for his actions. "(Reed) is trying to forgive and forget and move on but he does feel the defendant needs to be held responsible for his actions and I agree," Wilson said. Wilson said Lane provoked Reed and was waiting with his knife in hand to attack Reed. Lane then stabbed Reed's torso area in a "rabid, crazed" response to the fight, Wilson said. "The reality is he was perfectly willing to kill this man," Wilson said. Wilson added he disagreed with the idea that Lane was a victim with no other options. "Self defense must be reasonable," Wilson said. "You do not get to respond to a fist fight with another person by stabbing them 17 times." Outside of the courtroom, Lane's mother, Kathy, said she sympathizes with the other family. However, she stands by her son who she said was initially the one attacked. "This wouldn't have happened if (Reed) had not attacked him," Kathy Lane said. No friends or family appeared on behalf of Reed. Wilson expressed in court that he hopes to collect restitution for the victim. "I'm glad Mr. Lane is going to prison for what he did to Mr. Reed," Wilson said. "I'm even more glad that Mr. Reed survived it. He's incredibly lucky to be alive under the circumstances." The Journal's Jenifer Gee can be reached at jeniferg@goldcountrymedia.com or post a comment.