Gateway Center hostage taker who posted on Facebook sentenced

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man who took a hostage inside Gateway Center and posted to Facebook during the ordeal has been sentenced to between six and 15 years in state prison.

Klein Michael Thaxton, 23, was sentenced Wednesday on kidnapping, ransom, aggravated assault and other charges. Last September he held a 59-year-old businessman hostage for six hours before surrendering peacefully.

Police said Thaxton, of McKeesport, was off his medication for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression when took the man hostage. In July Thaxton was also charged with attacking another inmate at the Allegheny County Jail.

Kirsha Weyandt, Thaxton's court-appointed defense attorney, did not comment on the sentence.

WPXI