Timothy Mayo pleads guilty to reduced assault charge

Charged with attempted murder in April, Timothy Mayo pleaded guilty to a reduced felony charge of aggravated assault Wednesday in East Central District Court in Hillsboro.
Mayo, 44, of Hillsboro was accused of stabbing 18-year-old Stephen Johnson April 5.
Appearing with his court-appointed defense attorney, Steve Mottinger of Fargo, Mayo was sentenced to five years in prison by Judge Douglas Herman. Mayo was ordered to serve a minimum mandatory sentence of two years, with the remainder suspended. He was given credit for 197 days served in the Traill County Jail. He has been held there on $100,000 bail since turning himself into authorities the day after the altercation with Johnson.
According to police reports, Mayo stabbed Johnson in the chest with an eight-inch kitchen knife after a quarrel at the home of Jennifer Willison, 506 Kiwanis Drive.
Both men were visitors in the Hillsboro home that evening, according to court documents. The incident was reported via a 911 call by Willison, who was the only other person at the house.
Hillsboro police chief Ray Weber reported that prior to the incident, the two men had been drinking beer together and challenging each other to a fight. After a scuffle outside, the two came back into the house where the verbal bantering continued. Mayo eventually confronted Johnson in the kitchen, according to Willison’s account.
Mayo shoved Johnson against the wall and grabbed a knife from a holder by the stove. He stabbed Johnson high on his chest, near his armpit. Johnson pulled the knife out of his chest and fell to the floor, Willison recalled. Mayo’s physical and verbal attack continued but Johnson fended him off by keeping his foot on Mayo’s arm, the court documents stated.
Mayo left the house, taking the knife with him, Willison told police. Mayo turned himself in to authorities late the next day.
Johnson received stitches for a single stab wound and was held overnight for observation at the Hillsboro Medical Center.
Both men are longtime residents of the community.
The court recommended that Mayo serve his prison sentence in the penintentiary’s Tompkins Unit so he can receive chemical dependency treatment. Once he is released from prison, Mayo will be on supervised probation for five years.