Flint man convicted in brutal knife attack was trying to teach daughter a lesson, prosecutor says
Originally published by Mlive.com on February 04, 2014
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FLINT, MI -- A Flint man has been convicted of brutally beating his daughter's 17-year-old boyfriend and slicing him with a knife multiple times while trying to teach his daughter a lesson, according to prosecutors.
Tmando Allen Denson, 39, was found guilty Monday, Feb. 3, of assault with intent to great bodily harm less than murder for the Oct. 22, 2012, attack that started after finding his 15-year-old daughter and her boyfriend in his daughter's bedroom as the pair were having or about to have sex.
"I commend the work of Assistant Prosecutor Barney Whitesman and officer-in-charge Jason Cate for their hard work on this case and for cutting through the defense argument that this man was simply trying to protect his teenage daughter," Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said in a statement.
Denson's attorney, Kenneth Scott, could not be reached for comment on the verdict.
Prosecutors argued that the incident began when Denson went upstairs in his Illinois Street home to investigate a loud noise he had heard coming from the second floor. Testimony in the case showed that the daughter and boyfriend were half naked when they heard Denson's footsteps as he climbed the stairs.
The daughter was able to quickly get dressed before Denson entered the room but the boyfriend was still naked from the waist down.
Denson began to beat the 17-year-old with his fists, stomped on him and beat him with a shoe. He then ordered his daughter and her boyfriend to strip naked and Denson began taking pictures of them with his cell phone.
The victim was ordered to stay put while Denson went downstairs and returned with two knives. Prosecutors claimed that Denson stood over the victim and cut his back, shoulders and legs with the knives.
After slicing the victim, Denson ordered the 17-year-old to kiss his boot but instead kicked him in the face.
Denson then walked the victim outside and told him that he did the attack to teach his daughter a lesson, according to prosecutors.
During the eight-day trial in front of Genesee Circuit Judge Geoffrey Neithercut, Denson's daughter and wife testified that his daughter was being sexually assaulted by the victim.
"While many fathers have an understandable desire to protect their daughters, this man's actions went far beyond any reasonable approach," Leyton said. "Tmando Denson is a very violent man and there is absolutely no rationalization or comprehensible excuse for what he did to the victim in this case."
Denson was sentenced to prison in 2002 after shooting a man in Wayne County over a $75 drug debt. He also has previous drug, gun and home invasion convictions, according to state records.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 20. Denson faces a minimum of 25 years in prison and could be sentenced up to life in prison as a four-time habitual offender.
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