WESTBROOK, Maine - A New York man will spend 13 years in prison for a fatal stabbing in Westbrook.
Thirty-two-year-old Tareek Hendricks was accused of fatally stabbing Robert Stubbs and injuring his wife Melissa Stubbs at their home in 2011. He pleaded guilty to lesser charges during his trial in December and was sentenced Friday for manslaughter and assault. Had he been convicted of murder, he would have faced at least 25 years.
Justice Thomas Warren says he viewed the case as somewhat of a self-defense case because Robert Stubbs attacked Hendricks first using a baseball bat before Hendricks stabbed Stubbs at least nine times. The Portland Press Herald reports that Hendricks apologized in court Friday and called the incident a "spontaneous accident that spun out of control.''