PITTSBURGH — A homeless man convicted of stabbing a 16-year-old girl and several others who subdued him at the East Liberty Target was sentenced to prison Thursday.
Leon Walls, 44, was sentenced to 10 to 20 years behind bars after jurors found him guilty but mentally ill of aggravated assault but not guilty by reason of insanity of attempted homicide.
FREE APPS | NOW | FACEBOOK | TWITTER
- Tom Brady is that you? Courtroom sketch will haunt your dreams
- Former NA coach found guilty of institutional sexual assault
- Citizens Bank returning $14M to customers, fined $20.5M
- Georgia church allegedly bans 92-year-old woman for not tithing
In June, a jury found Walls guilty but mentally ill on nine of the 19 charges he faced, including one count of attempted homicide.
The judge acknowledged that Walls needs help Thursday, but said there was no long-term facility to care for him.
Walls' lawyers had wanted him to go somewhere where he could be treated for mental illness instead of prison.
Surveillance video played during the trial showed Walls as he grabbed the girl by the hair and dragged her away from her family before stabbing her in the chest and arm.
Walls then used her as a shield as others tried to stop him, cutting several of them in the process.
“I just wish the best for him,” said Michael Turner, who is still recovering from his stab wounds.
The girl has recovered. Several of the people who helped her are now being sued by Target.
Before Walls went away, Turner said the two had one last exchange.
“He was saying he was real sorry and that really touched me at that point,” Turner said.