SARANAC LAKE — A Saranac Lake man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder for the non-fatal stabbing of a Lake Placid man on Lake Flower Avenue last March. He has been sentenced to seven years in state prison with five years of post-release supervision.

Walter Finnegan, Jr., 73, pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder, a felony, before Judge Richard Meyer on Feb. 1, according to Essex County Assistant District Attorney Ken Borden.

Finnegan stabbed Aaron Gillespie, 49, of Lake Placid numerous times during an altercation at 219 Lake Flower Ave. last March. Gillespie was hospitalized with multiple stab wounds.

“He suffered some pretty significant injuries including some lacerations that severed muscle and nerve,” Borden said on Wednesday. “So he’s got some difficulty with the use of an arm, but he’s alive.”

Borden said he reached the seven-year prison sentence through a negotiation based on the facts of the case, as well as Finnegan’s age. He said his age played a “significant” factor in the decision. Borden said the five years of post-release supervision is for if Finnegan lives long enough to be released from prison in 2031. Borden was satisfied with the sentencing.

Finnegan was represented by Albany attorney James Knox, a partner with the E. Stewart Jones Hacker Murphy law firm.

Last spring, Saranac Lake Police Chief Darin Perrotte said Finnegan and Gillespie were engaged in a verbal argument which turned into a physical altercation inside a home on Lake Flower Avenue.

“Finnegan was instructed to leave by the resident,” Perrotte wrote in a statement. “Finnegan went to his vehicle and retrieved a knife. Finnegan then returned to the residence, unlawfully entered and reportedly stabbed Gillespie multiple times.”

Perrotte said Gillespie was found in the street between NBT Bank and the Saranac Waterfront Lodge. Gillespie was transported to Adirondack Medical Center by the Saranac Lake Volunteer Rescue Squad and was later transferred to Albany Medical Center for further treatment for multiple stab wounds.

Finnegan was released on bail last April while his case made its way through the court system. He was incarcerated at Essex County Jail after his sentencing on Feb. 1.

Finnegan was also initially charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree assault, first-degree menacing and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, all felonies, as well as resisting arrest, a misdemeanor.

Some court documents regarding Finnegan’s sentencing described the charge as second-degree murder, but Borden said this was a mistake on some of the court documents and there is no murder charge.

Finnegan was charged with menacing and harassment for allegedly brandishing a knife and threatening a person in 2019.

Gillespie has also sued Finnegan in a civil lawsuit.

Lake Placid Attorney James Maswick, who is representing Gillespie in the civil case, said Finnegan’s sentencing does not have a significant impact on the civil case. Finnegan has already admitted guilt, he said, and they can continue their suit seeking damages for pain and suffering.

Maswick said there’s a term called “collateral estoppel” — when someone pleads guilty to a set of facts, they must maintain those facts are true in the future.

Maswick said there are no damages demanded yet, and that the case is still in the information collecting phase with medical records and injury reports being shared. Maswick said Gillespie’s injuries will have a significant impact on the rest his life.

The lawsuit alleges that Gillespie and his mother were eating dinner when Finnegan came in and sat on the couch. The lawsuit says that it wasn’t uncommon for him to come over.

The altercation started over a drink not having enough alcohol in it, the lawsuit claims. The fight allegedly started with shouting, then spitting, and then a “minor scuffle.” After that, Finnegan left the house and returned with a knife, stabbing Gillespie twice in the chest and once in the hip bone.

According to the lawsuit, Gillespie, bleeding, left the apartment and walked into the street, where he collapsed with Finnegan approaching him. The lawsuit states that a passerby intervened and chased off Finnegan.

Finnegan, through his attorney John Harwick, has denied the stabbing and the cause of the altercation, denied knowledge of portions of the account and admitted to portions of the fight, according to court documents for the civil lawsuit.