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The sentencing comes after Zachary Ganie, 26, pleaded guilty on June 1 to aggravated assault, possession of an instrument of crime, and reckless endangering another person, and no contest to two counts of simple assault for the Sept. 12, 2019 incident.
On the day of the stabbing, Ganie, of Levittown, stole several bottles of alcohol from a home in the 700 block of Mill Road and assaulted a female resident who tried to stop him, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.
The resident then called her friend and her friend’s boyfriend who tried to get the alcohol back. They eventually got $60 from Ganie’s mother to pay for the alcohol.
Later that night, Ganie returned to the house to speak with the then-32-year-old man, but the conversation turned into a fight.
Ganie punched the man several times and had to be yanked off of him. The victim then ran into the home on Mill Road, where Ganie continued to strike a second victim in the head before fleeing, authorities said.
After the assaults were over, the first victim realized that while Ganie was punching him, he had also been stabbing him.
When Lower Makefield Township police arrived, they found the man on the floor inside the home, suffering from several stab wounds to his body, head, and face, authorities said.
The victim was rushed to St. Mary Medical Center for treatment. There, doctors said he had six stab wounds on his head, back, side, and abdomen that required immediate surgery.
He required operations to repair a major liver laceration, repair his diaphragm, and needed a chest tube to be placed to remove the blood in his chest cavity, the DA's office said.
His injuries were so severe, during one operation, he needed to be resuscitated, authorities said.
Other injuries included a left orbital fracture, sinus fracture, and wounds to his face and ear.
Victim impact statements were submitted by three people, including the victim who said the "physical effects have been devastating, but the psychological and emotional trauma has been even worse."
"I want to know why the defendant chose to use a knife in a fist fight," he said.
"I had thought he and I were on cordial terms, and I never thought the situation that night would escalate to the point where I almost died. I feel like the defendant is a danger to the community, and I'm afraid of what he might do when he is released from prison."
Ganie was sentenced to three and a half to seven years in state prison.
In addition to the state prison sentence, Common Pleas Judge Diane E. Gibbons also sentenced Ganie to a concurrent 10-year probation sentence and ordered him to pay restitution and undergo mental health, drug, and alcohol, and anger management treatments.
The case was investigated by Lower Makefield Township Police Department led by Detective John Campbell and was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Megan Hunsicker.
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