GREENFIELD — A Fountaintown man will spend three years on home detention for stabbing a relative in what his attorney called a family feud.
Brandon Anderson, 33, was arrested last fall for stabbing two people during a fight at a Greenfield home that started after tempers flared over a Facebook post.
Anderson pleaded guilty Wednesday in Hancock County Circuit Court to battery with a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony, and he was sentenced to serve three years in the local Community Corrections home-detention program.
Anderson’s guilty plea came as part of an agreement with prosecutors; two other charges, criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct, were dropped as part of the agreement.
Anderson and his brother, William Anderson, 38, of Greenfield, showed up to a home in the 300 block of Tague Street in early September and got into a fistfight with the man living there, their cousin, Jacob O’Meara.
Brandon Anderson told O’Meara he’d “gut him like a fish,” according to court documents. Witnesses told police Brandon Anderson pulled a knife and slashed O’Meara, 25, across the forehead.
O’Meara admitted he made a name-calling comment about William Anderson on Facebook, and the comment sparked the fight.
Brandon Anderson is the second person to be sentenced for his involvement with the crime; his brother, William Anderson, was ordered to spend a year on probation earlier this month after pleading guilty to battery as a Class A misdemeanor.
Police originally believed William Anderson was a victim. He was stabbed in the hand during the incident but came forward days later and admitted he was an instigator in the fight, court documents state.
O’Meara and his brother, Joshua O’Meara, 25, of Greenfield, who police believe also was involved in the scuffle, were both charged with misdemeanors for their involvement. Their cases are pending in Hancock County Superior Court 2.
Randy Sorrell of Fortville, Brandon Anderson’s attorney, told the judge in court that the fight was “a family issue that got out of control.”
His client, who was released from jail on $2,000 bond a few days after the incident, will turn himself into Hancock County Community Corrections on Friday morning; the facility welcomes new inmates for orientation on Fridays only.
Brandon Anderson told the judge he takes responsibility for his actions and hopes the time on home detention will help him maintain some stability for himself and his children.