A Brooklyn man will spend nearly a decade and a half behind bars for stabbing a man with a broken bottle following a minor car accident in Jamaica in 2020, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Robert Finley, 46, was sentenced Monday to 14 years in prison for stabbing a motorist in the face after a minor traffic incident escalated into a near-deadly altercation.
Finley, of Tilden Avenue in East Flatbush, was found guilty of assault in the first degree last month following a two-week-long trial before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michelle Johnson.
According to trial records, the victim was driving past Finley’s vehicle near Liverpool Street and 109th Avenue when Finley allegedly opened his car door and struck the other automobile. The victim pulled over and got out of his car to inspect the damage and that’s when Finley approached with a glass bottle.
Finley proceeded to smash the bottle over the man’s skull, then used the bottle’s jagged edges to stab the victim in the cheek and mouth. Finley then turned around and got back into his vehicle and drove away from the crime scene, according to trial records.
The victim had deep lacerations to his face that required approximately 150 stitches and still has scars on his face nearly two years later, as a result of the attack.
“A minor vehicle collision should never have escalated to brutal violence by this defendant, who was found guilty of assault in the first degree following a two-week-long trial,” Katz said. “He has now been sentenced to prison for his criminal actions. I hope the victim continues to recover from the sustained injuries caused by the defendant.”
Justice Johnson imposed the sentence of 14 years in prison, to be followed by five years’ post-release supervision.
