Crystal Lake man pleads guilty to stabbing acquaintance in February, receives prison time

A 51-year-old Crystal Lake man pleaded guilty last week to stabbing a man in the abdomen in February and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, court records show.

Brian McGrath, who has been in the custody of the McHenry County jail since Feb. 6, also must pay nearly $1,500 in fines and fees and serve one year of mandatory supervised release, according to sentencing documents.

He is required to serve at least 85% of his sentence and will receive credit for 373 days in the county jail, according to Judge Michael Coppedge’s sentencing order. He will also receive 83 days of credit for engaging in either a self-improvement program, work study or volunteer work.

In exchange for his negotiated guilty plea to one count of aggravated battery with use of a deadly weapon, a Class 3 felony, an additional count of the same charge was dismissed, according to court documents.

The class 3 felony can carry a term of two to five years in prison but is also probational.

McGrath was arrested in February after police responded to a call to a home in Cary where they found a man stabbed multiple times. The injuries were sustained at another Cary home nearby after an “argument that evolved into a physical fight,” police said.

The injured man was described by police as an “acquaintance” of McGrath’s, according to reports at the time.

Police at the time said they found the man with what appeared to be several stab wounds and lacerations to his abdomen and back, according to a news release by the Cary Police Department. The man’s injuries were not considered life threatening.

Officers learned the incident occurred at another residence close to the home where they found the injured man. The man had fled the home where he was stabbed on foot and went to the home where police were called.

When released from his sentence here, McGrath faces unrelated charges of robbery of a financial institution in Walworth County, Wisconsin, according to Wisconsin court documents.

An attempt to reach McGrath’s attorney, Brian Stevens, on Tuesday was not successful.