road rage

Man Found Guilty of Attempted Manslaughter in Montgomery Mall Stabbing

David B. Goldberg is accused of stabbing man, woman after road rage incident

A 24-year-old Potomac man was cleared of an attempted first-degree murder charge but found guilty of lesser charges in the stabbing of two people at a Montgomery County mall last November.

David B. Goldberg stabbed a man and a woman at the Westfield Montgomery Mall after a road-rage incident, authorities said.

After two days of deliberation, a jury cleared Goldberg of the first-degree murder charge he faced, but found him guilty of attempted manslaughter. He was also convicted of five counts of first degree assault and two counts of second degree assault.

"We're obviously disappointed that he was convicted, but that verdict recognizes the fact that he was provoked, that he had a genuine fear for himself and his daughter," Goldberg's lawyer Robert Bonsib said.

All nine counts could net Goldberg a sentence of up to 165 years in prison.

Goldberg argued his actions were in self-defense.

Prosecutors said Goldberg -- whose 2-year-old daughter was in the car at the time -- was driving on a street that loops around the mall when he almost struck another car at a stop sign. They said he and the driver of the other car then argued about who had the right of way, before going their separate ways.

Prosecutors said Goldberg then tried to hit the other driver, 31-year-old Clifton Bottswere, and his passenger, 28-year-old Rachel Peterson, with his car when he later saw them in the parking lot outside Sears.

Bottswere and Peterson were able to get out of the way, but prosecutors said Goldberg got out of his vehicle and stabbed Bottswere in the back, arm and face and stabbed Peterson in the abdomen.

Witnesses told News4 at the time that Goldberg then drove away, but struck another car before his own broke down on the roof level of a nearby parking garage. Police arrested Goldberg and said they found a five-inch knife at the scene during their investigation.

Peterson was stabbed in the stomach and underwent surgery. Both victims recovered from their wounds.

"I'm doing great, thank you for asking," Peterson said after the verdict was read Wednesday.

Goldberg will be sentenced Dec. 18.

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