The man who police say endangered thousands last summer by firing an assault rifle just over the tops of cars driving on Interstate 5 near Northgate Mall was sentenced this week to five years in federal prison.
Our news partners at The Seattle Times have the story. The sentence handed to Richard Floyd Blake, 32, was exceptionally long, given that the only thing he was actually charged with was being a felon in possession of a firearm, The Times reports.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Colasurdo had asked for even more time, writing in sentencing documents that the government feels “very strongly that such a sentence is warranted in light of the facts of this case, Blake’s criminal past, and his history of mental illness which, unfortunately, makes him a danger to our community.”
I-5 east of North Seattle Community College was shut down for hours that night while police moved in helicopters, SWAT teams and an armored vehicle. Blake, a homeless man hiding in the wooded area, admitted to shooting only one of at least 18 rounds fired from an AK-47-style weapon, the Times reports.
