WINTER PARK, Fla. – A former Orange County deputy has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the 2019 stabbing of his wife’s divorce attorney at a Winter Park law firm.
Gordon King, 61, received the sentence after several witnesses spoke on his behalf during a hearing Friday.
King’s girlfriend told a judge about his service to the community while working for the sheriff’s office.
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“He never hesitated to put his life on the line to save others or to back up his fellow deputies when he needed help,” Cindy Clark said. “Gordon is a good man that believes in family, friends and God.”
The defense explained how King suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and said his emotions got the best of him during a deposition at the law office of his wife’s divorce attorney May 1, 2019.
During the deposition, King got upset about a no contact order against him and began yelling, at which time the victim requested that the deposition conclude, according to the report.
The altercation between King and the victim was captured by the stenographer’s audio recording.
King pushed one of his attorneys out of the way and made his way toward the victim, asking him, “What are you going to do now you fat little (expletive)?” the affidavit said.
Police said King then punched the victim in the head and chest.
When someone yelled that 911 had been called, King replied, “Well, (expletive) it, then” and slammed the victim’s head into a table, according to the report.
The victim grabbed a knife from his pocket and attempted to slash King’s arm to defend himself, police said.
The two men ended up in a corner of a room with King on top of the victim’s chest as the man was in a chair, screaming for King to stop attacking him, according to authorities.
Police said when they arrived, the victim was in a blood-soaked chair, attempting to applying pressure to his wounds while King, who was also stabbed, was in the parking lot.
King was convicted in June for a charge of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, which carried a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
On Friday, King pleaded with a judge for the minimum sentence of 64 months, however, the judge said his actions warranted a much harsher penalty.
“What I have here today is a Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde-type situation, where you presented one person to one group and you present another person to another group,” Judge Tanya Wilson said.
King has 30 days to appeal the sentence.