Jackson's attacker headed to prison
Kimo Jackson in 2006, recuperating after the operation to remove his leg. William Lauria, who stabbed Jackson in the leg during an altercation outside of a Hot Springs bar, has been ordered to serve 10 years in prison for the incident. Lauria was orignally given a suspended sentence. Photo by John Zsiray
Richard Hanners, Whitefish Pilot Staff
A former Whitefish man who was given a 10-year suspended sentence for stabbing a man in the leg with a knife has now been ordered to serve the entire time in prison.
William Lauria and his wife Amanda were in Hot Springs on Sept. 23, 2006, when Kimo Jackson, then 25, of Ronan, whistled at Amanda as the couple headed into the Montana Bar on Main Street.
Lauria took offense and confronted Jackson about it. After a short time in the bar, Lauria came back out and approached Jackson again. During the confrontation, Lauria stabbed Jackson in the leg, puncturing an artery.
Jackson suffered so much blood loss that he was Life-Flighted to Seattle.
There, doctors discussed various ways to save his leg, but many of them sounded too daunting and time consuming to Jackson, who requested that they just remove it.
The missing leg may have ended up causing Jackson’s death. This summer, Jackson fell out of a raft and drowned because he couldn’t swim.
Lauria initially received a suspended sentence, but he was also ordered to pay $250,000 in restitution and he faced a $1.5 million civil suit.
Saying he couldn’t cope with business debts and the financial penalties, Lauria fled to Alaska in August 2007.
He was arrested in Juneau this summer and brought back to face District Court Judge C.B. McNeil, who was not persuaded by LauriaÃ-s appeals for leniency. McNeil expressed surprise that Lauria didn’t understand that the original 10-year suspended sentence was a good deal.
For his part, Lauria told the judge all he would learn by going to prison was how to be a criminal.