First-Degree Murder in Easton Stabbing, Jury Says

A Northampton County jury has found Lawrence Gaines guilty of first-degree murder in last year's stabbing of William Thompson, according to published reports.

Jurors deliberated for about four hours Thursday afternoon before delivering their verdict, the Express-Times reported.

Under state law, a first-degree murder conviction carries an automatic sentence of life in prison.

The verdict means jurors accepted the prosecution's argument that Gaines, 45, was the aggressor when he stabbed Thompson, 43, of Easton during a fight on July 3, 2013 on Ferry Street.

Gaines' attorney had argued his client acted in self-defense after Thompson—also known as "Poncho"— hit Gaines with a piece of wood.

"It took a knife to save that man's life," defense lawyer Robert Sletvold had said in his opening argument earlier this week.

The Morning Call notes that Assistant District Attorney Michele Kluk said the self-defense claim wasn't credible. She argued that Gaines had initially told police he wasn't there when Thompson was stabbed.

According to police and witness testimony, the fight between Gaines and Thompson began after Thompson came to buy drugs at a house at 613 Ferry St. Gaines was the apparent "muscle" for the house, and tried to get Thompson to go away.

Thompson was stabbed five times: once in the arm, three times in the buttocks, and once in the leg.

It was that last blow that was the most serious, cutting his femoral artery. He died at St. Luke's University Hospital a few hours after the fight.

Police say Gaines—recently released from prison—had bragged that he wasn't afraid to stab someone in the days before the fight.