Iowa City transient sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for stabbing

A 53-year-old Iowa City transient man was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison today after he pleaded guilty in November to willful injury causing serious injury for allegedly stabbing another transient man in the back.

Raymond Spears initially was charged with attempted murder and willful injury causing serious injury after police said he stabbed another man near downtown Iowa City in June 2010. Spears' case was scheduled to go to trial in December until Spears entered an Alford plea, which is a guilty plea in court even though the defendant doesn't admit to committing the alleged acts and asserts innocence.

Spears was given an indeterminate sentence in the Iowa Department of Corrections not to exceed 10 years because of the severity of the alleged crime and because of Spears' extensive criminal history, which includes weapons charges, assaults and escapes.

Assistant Johnson County Attorney Anne Lahey told the court Monday that Spears has more than 50 prior convictions and needs to be imprisoned for the community's safety.