Assault, long record net big sentence

August 1, 2006

By MARY AMES/Frontiersman PALMER - A Palmer man found guilty of first-degree assault in March was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Palmer Superior Court on Monday.

Kevin M. Stock, 47, could have received a sentence of 10 to 14 years for striking David Lynch in the head with a boot cast in May 2005, said Judge Eric Smith.

After Stock and Lynch spent a night drinking at Stock's apartment at the Palmer Arms apartments, Stock picked up Lynch's cast and struck Lynch over the head several times until a neighbor intervened. Lynch died in December 2005, unrelated to Stock's assault.

“What Mr. Stock did was way out of proportion to what happened,” Smith said. “We heard testimony from the doctor who said it was lucky the victim wasn't killed or more seriously hurt.”

James Lynch, David's father, spoke to the court, saying his son was seriously injured.

Shortly after Stock's attack, David Lynch spent four days in Providence Hospital in Anchorage, James Lynch said.

“He was having hallucinations and didn't know where he was or who he was,” he said. “The doctors said it could have been related to his head injuries. I do want to thank the police, the district attorney and the court for taking this man out of society.”

Suzanne Powell, assistant district attorney, asked the court to impose the full 14 years.

“He admitted he wanted to kill,” Powell said. “He said he wanted to kill with his bare hands.”

Powell said Stock's chances for rehabilitation were guarded given his criminal history in Alaska, Oregon, Washington and Arizona. Stock had multiple pages of records, including attempted burglary, many arrests for driving under the influence and an assault charge from 1994. Stock was on probation for a DUI when he committed this assault, she said.

Marcy McDannel, Stock's defense attorney, said she was still boning up on the new sentencing laws, but she believed a judge would have to show a good reason to impose a sentence on the high end of a possible range.

“Mr. Stock allegedly attacked the victim with a boot cast,” she said. “But he was too drunk to seriously injure the victim.”

The extent of David Lynch's injuries were limited to his head, McDannel said.

“He was doing his best to inflict harm on a defenseless victim and couldn't,” she said. “He had the time and opportunity and didn't. We heard the testimony - head wounds bleed.”

Saying Stock had never done very well on probation, Judge Smith handed down the 10-year sentence with no probation and imposed the time remaining on Stock's 2003 DUI case.

“Mr. Stock has to figure out a way to quit drinking,” Smith said.

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.