Man gets 20 years in carjacking, shooting


August 29, 2013 at 8:36a.m.

Man gets 20 years in carjacking, shooting

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A central Pennsylvania man convicted of an armed carjacking that authorities say left a man paralyzed has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.

U.S. Middle District Judge John Jones III compared 22-year-old Ronald Sweeney of York to a “runaway truck” during Wednesday’s sentencing in Harrisburg.

The judge said he abided by Sweeney’s plea agreement only because the 63-year-old victim showed “grace and mercy” and endorsed the deal.

Prosecutors said Sweeney carjacked the victim as he waited for his grandson near an elementary school in October 2011 and shot him in the back, leaving him a paraplegic.

The judge said “Short of killing somebody, this is as bad as it gets.”

Public defender Thomas Thornton said his client is “very sorry” and “feels very, very bad” for the victim.