William Ragland 30 was ordered yesterday to spend seven to 10 years in prison for the attack in September 2000. He must first complete an unrelated 21- to 25-year sentence for being a career criminal with an illegal gun.
A second man Trevor Watson 36 was sentenced to a year in prison for hitting Pierce during the attack in a Boston nightclub two years ago.
Pierce received eight stab wounds and was hit over the head with a bottle during the attack in the Buzz Club on Sept. 25 2000.
The three-week trial was marked by recanted testimony and allegations of witness intimidation.
Pierce testified that he was set upon by a group of men after he had a brief conversation with two women including one who was related to both Ragland and Watson.
Before sentencing Ragland who killed a man when he was 14 by shooting indiscriminately into a crowd in Boston insisted he didn’t stab Pierce.
“I’m sorry for the incident that happened but still the people that stabbed him are out on the street” he told Suffolk Superior Court Judge Charles Spurlock. “To Paul Pierce I’d like to say sorry for the incident that happened but I never stabbed him and I never kicked him.”
Both Ragland and Watson were acquitted of a more serious charge of trying to kill Pierce. Another man Anthony Hurston 33 was acquitted of all charges.
Pierce was seriously injured in the attack suffering a collapsed lung but recovered and returned in time to play the 2000-2001 season with the Celtics.
Jeff Twiss a spokesman for the Celtics said the team and Pierce did not plan to make a statement about the sentences.
Before the sentencing Watson’s lawyer Martin Leppo asked the judge to throw out Watson’s conviction arguing that there was not enough evidence for the jury to convict him.
Spurlock denied the motion.
During the trial which ended Monday the prosecution’s star witness Krystal Bostick refused to testify and fainted after she was threatened with three months in jail for contempt of court for failing to take the stand.
She later testified but recanted her earlier statements to the grand jury when she identified Watson and Ragland as the men she saw stabbing Pierce. She said she never saw either man with a knife that night.
Another prosecution witness Regina Henderson told the grand jury she saw Hurston hit Pierce over the head with a bottle. But during the trial she said a man named Fred had hit Pierce not Hurston.
In his closing arguments Pappas told the jury the two women were afraid of retaliation if they identified the men.
The jury was allowed to consider both the earlier grand jury testimony and the testimony at trial.
Demonic cacs
