LANCASTER, Pa. — A Caernarvon Township teenager has been sentenced to three to six years in state prison after pleading guilty to aggravated assault and related charges for shooting a man with a BB gun and stabbing him with a knife during a violent altercation last year.
Nicholas Martin, 17, was sentenced by Judge Merrill Spahn on Oct. 28 and will also be required to pay $226,000 in restitution for the victim’s medical expenses. The charges stem from an incident on Oct. 11, 2023, when Martin, then 16, used an AR-style BB gun to shoot the man inside their home on Division Highway.
According to court records, the victim fought back and pushed Martin to the ground, but Martin retrieved a five-and-a-half-inch knife and stabbed the man multiple times in the groin, back, arm, and hand. The confrontation ended when a woman intervened and separated the two. Martin then retreated to his bedroom and surrendered to the State Police without further incident.
Investigators revealed that the incident followed an escalating dispute. Witnesses told police that Martin had threatened the victim earlier that day, telling him, “I’m going to kill him now or later,” after an argument the previous evening. Martin also reportedly sent the victim a text daring him to return home and posted on social media about his intent to kill the man.
The District Attorney’s Office stated that Martin confessed to police that he had been planning to kill the man, spending much of the day armed with two BB guns and several knives.
The case has drawn attention to the severity of the attack and the significant restitution order meant to cover the victim’s recovery costs.
