Joseph Axzavis Stewart, Sr. Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Maryland 2017

Prince George’s County Man Pleads Guilty to Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Faces 8-12 Years in Prison

Greenbelt, Maryland – In a shocking turn of events, Joseph Axzavis Stewart, Sr., a 58-year-old man from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a dangerous weapon with intent to injure. The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Chief of Police Robert D. MacLean of the U.S. Park Police.

According to the plea agreement, on July 31, 2016, at approximately 9:00 p.m., Stewart stabbed an individual who was seated in the passenger seat of a friend’s truck at a construction site near the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, where the friend worked. The victim suffered from stab wounds to the arm and back and underwent several surgeries, ultimately losing feeling in the right arm.

Stewart, who worked for the same construction company, had a brief romantic relationship with the individual’s friend. After other employees from the construction company intervened, Stewart fled the scene in a gray truck. The knife used to stab the victim was recovered from Stewart’s gray truck during a search warrant execution by law enforcement.

As part of his plea agreement, Stewart will be required to pay restitution in the full amount of the loss of the victim, a devastating blow to the victim’s family.

Stewart and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, he will be sentenced between eight and 12 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has scheduled sentencing for July 5, 2017 at 9:30 a.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the U.S. Park Police for their tireless work in the investigation. Rosenstein also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hollis R. Weisman and Thomas M. Sullivan, who are prosecuting the case.

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