PARIS - A 39-year-old man charged with entering his ex-girlfriend's home last spring and stabbing her new boyfriend in the neck will not face any additional jail time, a judge ruled Thursday.

Dwight Knox, of 11 Church St., Jay, pleaded no contest to felony aggravated assault in Oxford County Superior Court. Justice Roland Cole sentenced him to serve 14 days of a three-year sentence, along with two years of probation. Knox will not return to jail because of time served following his arrest.

The sentence came as a result of a plea agreement between Assistant District Attorney Joe O'Connor and defense attorney William Maselli.

"Obviously, on the face of it, this is an incredibly light sentence," said Cole. "But it's only a great deal if he stays out of trouble."

Knox was indicted in June for attempted murder, elevated aggravated assault, aggravated assault, burglary, violation of a protection order, and violation of conditions of release. He was accused of stabbing Tony Leonard, then 37, in the neck on May 14 while Leonard was sleeping at a Rumford residence.

Knox was later arrested at his home, then in Rumford, and released on surety bail on June 1.

O'Connor said Knox had "expressed his dislike for black people and expressed his desire to kill black people, especially Mr. Leonard."

According to O'Connor, Leonard was able to recognize Knox because Knox's ex-girlfriend had pointed him out to Leonard in a Wal-Mart and because there were photos of Knox in the apartment. Both Leonard and the woman stated that they recognized Knox as he left the residence after the stabbing.

However, O'Connor said a jury could have found Knox not guilty by reasonable doubt. He said the woman recanted her statement and subsequently recanted the recantation. Moreover, when presented with an eight-man lineup, Leonard initially chose a person with a resemblance to Knox and not Knox himself.

Cole noted that Leonard has a criminal history, and could have been impeached as a witness.

"That case had many challenges from the beginning," said Detective Sgt. Daniel Garbarini of the Rumford Police Department, who investigated the incident. "I think because of the challenges that existed in that case, the District Attorney's Office did well."

"You're disappointed to see that little," he added, "but in the same token, I'm glad to see there was a conviction out of that."

O'Connor said Knox did not have any serious bail violations related to the charges aside from contacting the woman, with whom he has a son. The conditions of Knox's probation set on Thursday require him to have no contact with Leonard.

According to the aggravated assault indictment, the charge was raised from a Class B offense to a Class A offense because Knox was convicted of assault in Oxford County in 2000 and 2001. Knox's criminal history in Maine and Florida includes convictions for criminal threatening, theft, assaulting law enforcement officers, indecent exposure, burglary, and shoplifting.

He was charged in 1990 with homicide and attempted homicide in Florida, but was not convicted.

"I'd like to think Mr. Knox can take this as a learning curve and make the corrections that he needs to learn a different lifestyle," Garbarini said.