BY ALEX PIAZZA
apiazza@record-eagle.com
TRAVERSE CITY — Boyd Culver's medical bills already exceed $10,000, and he expects that total will increase in the coming months.
Culver underwent a handful of operations to repair severe facial lacerations he sustained in May when a Traverse City man struck him four times with a shattered pint glass.
"It all happened so fast," said Culver, 29, a Traverse City web developer. "I didn't even see it coming."
Culver received about 300 stitches after David Michael Taylor, 22, assaulted him with a pint glass on May 5 at Union Street Station.
"I didn't talk to the guy all night," said Culver, who still has visible scars on his face after surgery.
He sat in a Traverse City courtroom on Friday, as 13th Circuit Judge Thomas G. Power sentenced Taylor to ten months in jail and three years probation.
"This is a pretty serious assault," Power said.
Traverse City police arrested Taylor weeks after the assault in the basement of a local residence. Police have yet to determine what prompted the altercation between Culver and Taylor.
Authorities charged Taylor in May with a count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and assault with a dangerous weapon, both felonies. He pleaded guilty this month to assault with a dangerous weapon, as part of a plea deal in exchange for dismissal of his assault with intent to do great bodily harm charge.
"I had clouded judgment that night," said Taylor, who admitted to substance abuse problems. "I'd just like to apologize to him and his family."
Taylor was credited for 51 days spent in jail and is required to pay $800 in court costs, court records show. He is not allowed to visit bars, consume alcohol or drugs and has a set curfew — all terms of his probation.
Meanwhile, Culver continues to struggle with medical bills that he expects will total $12,000. He said all of his medical bills have been paid out-of-pocket because he doesn't have health insurance.
