BURTON, MI – It was Valentine’s Day 2021 when three people entered a home on the southwest side of Burton.
They were there because one of the trio wanted to check on the well-being of his child, who lived inside the home with their mother.
But only two of the three culprits would make it out of the house alive.
More than a year later, the other two are facing lengthy prison sentences after pleading guilty to multiple felony charges in Genesee County’s Circuit Court.
Joshua Childers and Patricia Rickman, a couple at the time of the incident, both appeared before Circuit Court Judge F. Kay Behm on Tuesday, May 17, in a case in which both were accused of first-degree home invasion, a capital offense punishable by up to life in prison.
The two defendants, both of Flint, were originally charged with first-degree home invasion, assault with intent to murder and assault with intent to do great bodily harm in connection with the Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021, home invasion of a residence in the 1400 block of Carman Street in Burton.
Police had originally been called to the area in response to the report of a stabbing. When they arrived, they found the body of 25-year-old Johnathon Skaggs in the snow outside the home. Two people inside the home also had been injured.
Childers on Tuesday pleaded guilty to reduced charges of second-degree home invasion and assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder. The third charge, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, was dismissed.
Rickman pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree home invasion and assault with intent to do great bodily harm. One charge of assault with intent to murder was dismissed.
Second-degree home invasion is a 15-year felony. Assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder is a 10-year felony. But both plea agreements included sentencing agreements, as well.
For Childers, Genesee County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Paul Fehrman told the court the agreement included a minimum of five years in prison for the home invasion charge. Rickman’s agreement included a stipulation for a minimum of three years in prison on the home invasion charge.
Related: 3 charged in Burton home invasion that left 1 intruder dead, prosecutor says
Skaggs, Childers and Rickman broke into the home of Skaggs’ ex-girlfriend on Valentine’s Day with the intent to harm, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton told MLive-The Flint Journal previously.
Skaggs, officials said, was armed with a knife. The other two had metal pipes.
The defendants in court Tuesday said they knocked on the front door of the home but did not receive an answer. Skaggs went around to the back of the home and the two defendants heard a loud crash they would later ascertain was Skaggs kicking in the back door.
Read more: 3 arraigned in Burton home invasion that left 1 intruder dead, 2 in home injured
Once inside, Skaggs cut his ex-girlfriend with a knife, Leyton said at the time. Her husband was also stabbed but was eventually able to stab Skaggs with a kitchen knife.
Childers admitted to swinging a pipe at one of the victims to get them to stop fighting with Skaggs inside the home. Rickman also said she was inside the home and tried to break up the altercation that ended up being fatal.
As the suspects attempted to flee the scene in a vehicle, Skaggs collapsed outside the home and died.
The two additional victims were treated at Hurley Medical Center in Flint with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.
The two people inside the home acted in self-defense and were not charged in connection with the incident.
Both defendants remain lodged in the Genesee County Jail ahead of their sentencing, which is scheduled for June 28 in Judge Behm’s courtroom.
Read more at The Flint Journal:
Former Burton cop ordered to pay back over $3,100 in embezzlement case
Open murder charge filed against suspect in shooting death of Burton man
Burton man in critical condition after crashing pickup truck into train
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