ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for the 2016 attack of a Roanoke County couple.
News outlets report Wasil Farat Farooqui was sentenced Tuesday on two counts of malicious wounding for an August 2016 attack where he burst into a couple’s home and stabbed them with a kitchen knife. Both survived with lasting injuries.
Defense attorney Neil Horn argued mental illness was to blame, but County Judge James Swanson disagreed.
According to court documents, the FBI investigated Farooqui prior to the attack after his parents called with concerns, reporting he traveled to Turkey. Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Leach says Farooqui’s trip, among other items, suggests radicalism may have partly influenced his motivation.
Farooqui was also sentenced to pay $53,000 in restitution and 15 years of probation.
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Information from: The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com
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