SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A man from Springfield pleaded guilty and was sentenced for stabbing someone after a church service in 2024.
On Sept. 8, 2025, 32-year-old Carl Wells was sentenced to seven years in state prison for first-degree assault — serious physical injury or special victim. He pleaded guilty on Sept. 3.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Springfield man charged with stabbing someone in neck after church
Court documents state that on Sept. 8, 2024, police were called to a church in Springfield for a victim who was stabbed in the neck and a suspect who had been detained. The victim was transported to Mercy Hospital for treatment, where he told police he was going to fight Wells over a previous verbal altercation but got “sucker punched.”
Witnesses at the scene said Wells and the victim did have a verbal altercation during the church service after Wells had made disparaging comments about the church. After the service, Wells came up from behind the victim and stabbed him in the neck, according to court documents…