Kansas City man who stabbed Walmart employee in neck gets 18 years in prison
A Kansas City man was sentenced to 18 years in prison for stabbing his former romantic partner in the neck while she was working behind a Walmart counter in December 2018, Jackson County prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Brian LeNoble Jr., 26, pleaded guilty Thursday to first-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action in Jackson County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to 15 years on the assault charge and three more for armed criminal action, with the sentences set to run back to back.
The attack happened on New Year’s Eve in 2018 at the Walmart Supercenter at Blue Ridge Crossing in the 11600 block of East U.S. 40. LeNoble allegedly grabbed a knife from one of the store aisles and went to the automotive section.
Witnesses said he walked behind the counter, stabbed an employee and ran through the garage before he was apprehended.
The blade of the knife was embedded in the woman’s neck as she was taken to the hospital with serious injury. An off-duty Kansas City police officer working private security arrested LeNoble in the parking lot, and LeNoble was still carrying the knife handle at the time, according to court documents.
During his arrest, he allegedly said: “I tried to kill her and slit her throat and I would do it again,” according to court documents.
LeNoble and the woman had been in a relationship for a year, according to statements in court documents. A family member told police that LeNoble had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post traumatic stress disorder.
LeNoble is assigned to the Western Reception Diagnostic and Correctional Center in St. Joseph. He received credit for time already served in Jackson County jail.
