An Ammon man who stabbed a teen fleeing over a fence was sentenced to probation Wednesday.

The victim, who was 15 years old at the time, avoided losing his leg from the injury Devin Miner, 47, inflicted on him, but the injury means he will likely never run again in his life.

“The risk of amputation was a very real possibility until very recently,” the victim said in an impact statement given before the court.

Miner stabbed the victim in November 2021 when he found the victim and three other teens in his backyard. Court records stated the teens had fled from a parking lot after a woman yelled at them, and were suspected of stealing a vehicle in Madison County.

Miner told the kids he would stab them if they moved, according to the probable cause affidavit. When they attempted to jump over a fence, court records say Miner attacked and stabbed the victim in the leg.

Police and prosecutors concluded Miner’s actions were not self defense because the children were fleeing when he attacked.

The victim told Judge Bruce Pickett that doctors told him if he did not regain any feeling in his foot, it would be better to remove the leg. The stabbing and multiple surgeries that followed removed muscle and tissue, but he did regain feeling in his foot.

The injury meant the victim, who had been a high school athlete before the stabbing, could no longer play football or basketball, run track, go mountain biking.

The victim’s mother also gave an impact statement saying the injury meant the family had to spend a great deal of their time caring for the victim, providing him medicine, taking him to appointments, and helping him with tasks that were once simple.

The mother also said her son had fallen deep into depression after losing his ability to participate in sports. The victim suffered nightmares and flashbacks after the stabbing.

“I will continue to suffer from this the rest of my life,” the victim said.

The victim added, however, that he had stopped hating Miner and offered his forgiveness in court, saying he hopes Miner learns from his mistake and is able to put his own life together.

Pickett told the attorneys he was reluctant to accept the plea deal, in which the parties agreed to recommend probation in a binding agreement, after listening to the impact statements.

The attorneys had a sidebar, which Pickett later said was to confirm the victim’s family was involved and informed during plea negotiations. Bonneville County Assistant Chief Deputy Prosecutor Penny North-Shaul said they were, and that they approved of the plea deal.

Defense Attorney Jason Gustaves said Miner has a limited criminal history, having last been on probation in Arizona. He revealed Miner’s home had been burglarized three weeks before the stabbing, adding to his defensiveness when he saw the teens on his property.

“Mr. Miner is not out stalking the streets looking for people to stab,” Gustaves said.

Both Gustaves and Shaul also said Miner had been remorseful. Court records say he was upset and apologetic when officers told him he may have caused a permanent injury to a minor.

Shaul added, however, that his fear of trespassers did not justify his actions, and that the stabbing was not an accident or misunderstanding, given they were running away from him.

Miner apologized to the victims in a statement to the court.

“I want them to know that I’m deeply, deeply sorry for hurting him,” Miner said.

Pickett praised the victim before handing down his sentence for being able to forgive Miner and face the challenges his injury had caused in his life. He told Miner he had considered sending him to prison, but had decided against it.

“I could send you to prison for 14 years, (but) it wouldn’t do anything to help (the victim),” Pickett said. He added that it did not seem the victim wanted him to go to prison.

Instead, Pickett mostly followed the plea deal’s recommendation. He sentenced Miner to 14 years of probation, with an underlying sentence of two- to 14 years in prison if he violates the terms of that probation. Miner will have to serve 100 hours of community service and pay a $5,000 compensatory fine to the victim.

Pickett also ordered Miner to serve 60 days in jail without work release. The plea agreement called for work release during the jail sentence. Because the plea agreement was binding, Miner could withdraw his plea if Pickett gave a sentence outside the agreement’s parameters. When given the chance to withdraw his plea, however, Miner said he would stick to the plea agreement.