ELBOW LAKE - Carly Lacey, the Maynard woman who had faced an attempted murder charge for stabbing her former boyfriend multiple times, was sentenced Monday to more than six years of prison.
Lacey was sentenced to 74 months in prison, with credit for 291 days served, on a charge of first-degree assault. As the result of a plea agreement, Lacey received a “bottom of the box” sentence - a reference to the grid system used in the state sentencing guidelines - and a second-degree attempted murder charge was dismissed.
Lacey, 32, reportedly stabbed her then-boyfriend, Keith Peterson, 36, of Maynard, in the neck, back, arm and abdomen. The assault occurred while the couple was camping at the Tipsinah Mounds Campground on Pomme de Terre Lake near Elbow Lake.
She reportedly stabbed Peterson and continued to pursue him as he tried to get away.
Fellow campers came to Peterson’s aid after hearing his calls for help and slowed bleeding until emergency responders arrived, according to the criminal complaint on the charges.
Lacey had originally petitioned for a 132-month prison sentence, stayed for 20 years, during which time she would have served probation.
During a hearing in April, Lacey and her attorney, Christopher Karpan, argued that she was eligible for probation, having engaged in numerous self-improvement activities in jail.
In a letter addressed to Judge Charles Glasrud, Lacey apologized for what she had done and said she was continuing to make significant life changes.
“I feel regret and remorse for what I’ve done and know I cannot change what happened,” the letter stated. “The truth I face every day is that it did happen and I drank with the disregard for others.”
During a phone interview Tuesday with the Tribune, Grant County Attorney Justin Anderson said that he did not object to the original plea agreement, in which Lacey would have been sentenced to 20 years of probation. Anderson said the plea arrangement was ultimately rejected by the court and the parties later came to a new agreement consisting of the executed 74-month prison sentence.
Karpan said he thought Lacey’s final sentence was “reasonable,” during a phone interview Tuesday.
“I think it was a reasonable agreement all the way around. … (Lacey) is not upset about it. She’s taken her medicine, she’s looking forward to taking advantage of the programs they have at Shakopee and moving on with her life.”
