SALISBURY, Md. - A man convicted of kidnapping and assaulting his former girlfriend, has been sentenced to prison.
A judge sentenced Tyler Gaskins, formerly of Salisbury, to 90 years in prison. On April 29, Gaskins was convicted of kidnapping, assault in the first degree, three counts of assault in the second degree, violation of a protective order, witness tampering, and perjury following a three day bench trial.
On May 2, 2023, Gaskins, believing that his girlfriend had been cheating on him, assaulted her in their home. He continued to assault her the next day, strangling and punching the victim in her chest with so much force that he fractured her sternum.
Gaskins then threatened to kill the victim with a knife if she did not get into his car. She complied and Gaskin's drove her to her ex boyfriend's home to confront him about the alleged cheating. Gaskin's then entered the home and attacked the ex boyfriend with a knife.
Following the attacks, the victim obtained a protective order against Gaskins, which he violated numerous times while pending trial. When contacting her, he instructed her to take out false charges against her ex boyfriend to help his case. While doing so, he swore out criminal charges against the ex boyfriend. The Court found that Gaskins' perjured himself in making this complaint.
"Mr. Gaskins' actions in May 2023 and the months following demonstrate that he poses a significant risk to public safety. I am confident that the Court's sentence will ensure that the public will be protected from Mr. Gaskins' violence in the future" said Wicomico County State's Attorney Jamie Dykes.