An Overland Park teenager will spend the next four years in prison for stabbing two people in Shawnee, including breaking into a house and attacking his ex-girlfriend and another teen.
On Friday in Johnson County District Court, Christopher Curtis was sentenced to 48 months in prison for two counts of aggravated battery.
The sentence comes as part of a plea agreement, which dropped one charge of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated burglary.
The punishment was handed down by Judge Erica K. Schoenig.
The stabbings occurred in June 2024
At about noon on June 15, 2024, police, firefighters and paramedics were called to a home in the 5200 block of Barton Drive for a reported stabbing.
Curtis had broken into a house where his ex-girlfriend, who is also the mother of his child, and a 17-year-old male were located, Matthew Gehrke, the assistant district attorney at Johnson County District Attorney’s Office, said during sentencing.
Curtis’ child and another person unrelated to him were also at the home, and both were unharmed during the incident.
Curtis grabbed a pair of scissors and stabbed the male in the chest, piercing close to his heart, and he also cut his ex-girlfriend.
The injured male was able to run to a house down the street to call for help.
“For a number of days, his mobility was limited,” Gehrke said. “He wasn’t supposed to lift heavy things. So, he was affected by this.”
Neither victim attended Curtis’ sentencing, but Gehrke said the male victim asked for Curtis to be sentenced to prison, while his ex-girlfriend gave no opinion.
Curtis has a criminal past
During the sentencing, Gehrke focused on Curtis’ escalating criminal behavior.
In 2022, he was charged and placed on probation for battery for attacking his mother, prosecutors said. In 2023, he was charged with making a criminal threat and interfering with a law enforcement officer.
“This is an escalation of conduct,” Gehrke said.
Judge Schoenig agreed.
“This is definitely what the court would consider significant escalation in criminal activity,” she said. “There are certain crimes that there needs to be punishment for, and this is one of those cases.”
“I would like to take accountability”
During the sentencing, Curtis and his mother both made pleas for probation so he could get help from his support system, which included his family and teachers.
“Chris does have a learning disability and complications, and we have fought through that,” his mother said. “I have a team of people, especially teachers, that love Chris, and (are) there for Chris … He has the intentions to be a better guy. I’m asking the court to give him a second chance of being free and to accomplish his goals.”
Addressing the court, Curtis apologized for his actions and said he wanted to be put on probation so he could be there for his son and pursue a career.
“I would like to take accountability for my actions, and I would like to apologize to the victims’ families, and I’m sorry for putting the victims’ families through that,” he said.
“I want to be here for my son as much as possible. I already missed a lot of things while being incarcerated, and I’m not willing to miss any more things. As long as I’m on this journey, I will succeed, no matter what. I will do the best that I can in my abilities to succeed with my goals and to be back on track,” he added.
The judge sentenced Curtis to prison
While Judge Schoenig acknowledged the pleas for probation from Curtis, his mother and Zane Lee Todd Jr., Curtis’ attorney, she couldn’t get past his criminal history.
“(Zane Lee Todd Jr.)’s is absolutely correct that there’s better community support in the community than in prison. But when I look at what happened in this case … (it’s) incredibly serious,” she said.
Citing all of his previous crimes, Judge Schoenig expressed worry for Curtis.
“It was quite an escalation,” she said. “He had just been placed on supervision with the juvenile court, and nine days later, he’s stabbing someone in the chest, nearly killing them, and it was an incredibly violent crime.”
Before handing down the sentence, Schoenig said she hopes he will be able to rehabilitate his behavior.
“Mr. Curtis, you’re young, you’re going to serve this time, but when you get out, I hope you do the things you tell me you want to do,” she said. “You need to be a better person for your son, and I believe you will be. But you’ve got to do your time. You did a significant crime, and now you’ve got to do the time for it.”
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