PHOENIX — A man who deliberately plowed a car into three Phoenix police officers two years ago outside a convenience store was sentenced Tuesday to 35 years in prison for 12 felony convictions stemming from the attack, including three counts for attempted murder.
Marc Laquon Payne had faced 10 to 54 years in prison for the September 2016 attack that left an officer with a broken leg, another with a concussion, and a third officer with minor injuries.
Payne pleaded guilty to the charges in April.
The attack came during an especially violent year for police officers nationwide, including separate deadly attacks in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Authorities have said Payne sped across the store's parking lot where the officers were standing and slammed into the group.
One officer was thrown over the front of Payne's vehicle, while another was pinned between a police SUV and Payne's vehicle. The third officer fought with Payne after he was removed from the vehicle. Payne struggled with officers but was detained after one officers used a stun gun on him.
Payne's vehicle also hit the front of the convenience store, forcing an employee to jump out of the way.
Not long after his arrest, Payne's lawyer asked a court for evaluations on whether his client was mentally fit to assist in his defense, saying Payne seemed to be having visual and audio hallucinations.
Several months later, a judge deemed Payne psychologically competent.
