53-year-old man accused of stabbing store manager at Walgreens at 27th & National sentenced to prison

MILWAUKEE COUNTY -- A 53-year-old man accused of stabbing a store manager at the Walgreens at 27th and National in Milwaukee has reached a plea deal in the case against him -- and he has been sentenced to prison.

Timothy King



Timothy King on Thursday, September 29th pleaded guilty to an amended charge of second degree recklessly endangering safety (penalties for felonies - Class "G" felony).

King was then sentenced to serve three years in prison and three years extended supervision.

He has received credit for 221 days time served.

A restitution hearing has been set for November 21st.

The stabbing happened on February 21st, 2016.

The victim in this case, John Witherspoon, was released from the hospital on March 2nd.

The stabbing happened while Witherspoon was escorting Timothy King out of the store after he caused a disturbance there.

 

Witnesses said a man came into the Walgreens store, caused a disturbance and started pounding on the office door. When Witherspoon and a security guard escorted the man to the door of the store, that man stabbed Witherspoon in the heart.

John Witherspoon



The complaint indicates surveillance video showed Witherspoon follow King into the street after escorting him out of the store. King was seen quickly turning around and making a "jabbing motion" at Witherspoon's chest.

Witherspoon was taken to Froedtert Hospital and rushed into surgery. He was treated for a one-inch puncture to the left chest area that punctured his heart.

Walgreen's near 27th and National Ave.



The complaint indicates that police spoke with King, who said once he was outside the Walgreens store on February 21st, he told a manager to "(expletive) off," and the manager said "he was going to come out of the store and kick (King's) (expletive)." King said he then stabbed with a knife toward the manager, and admitted to "poking" the manager in the chest -- indicating it "felt like he struck paper in the manager's pocket."

Witherspoon's father said his son was simply doing his job when he was stabbed and left badly hurt.

The store manager is the father of three children, and is known as "Batman" to the close-knit group of workers and customers at Walgreens. That's because Witherspoon would often step in to help others -- sometimes offering the homeless a little warmth in the store on a frigid night.

"That's his store and he protects his store. People there know him. They're very tight-knit," said Gerald Witherspoon. "It's just the thought that these days it could happen anywhere to anyone. And like I said before, in a second your life can change; the life of your son can change."



Gerald said it was scary to think that a split second of seemingly irrational violence nearly killed his son.

"It was scary. He may be 41 years old, but he's still my son. He's still my baby. We'll deal with it from there. It was tough," said Witherspoon.

Suspect in Walgreens stabbing incident



Milwaukee police arrested King on February 22nd at a home on the city's south side.