FORT WORTH -- A former Lost Boy of Sudan who has a history of mental illness was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison in the stabbing of a UPS driver on her delivery route.
James Panchol, 35, of Fort Worth had pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and opted to let a Tarrant County jury decide his punishment. The jury of seven men and five women deliberated about an hour before deciding on the maximum punishment.Panchol was shot four times by a police office after attacking the UPS driver in the parking lot of a west Fort Worth apartment complex on July 27, 2009.He stabbed the woman, unprovoked, in the upper back with a large kitchen knife and then twice more in the lower back and upper arm as he chased her around the parking lot, according to prosecutors Lloyd Whelchel and Jennifer Jackson.A bystander helped the woman hide, but Panchol was still in the parking lot when police arrived. He refused to drop the knife and was hit with a Taser. He pulled out the probes and charged officers before being shot.He had a history of mental illness and had reportedly been "hearing voices" a few weeks before the stabbing, according to evidence presented by the defense. However, he refused treatment.A cousin testified for the defense about their lives as they left Sudan, living in Ethiopia and Kenya before moving to the United States.Defense attorney David Jones said they were "taught to kill people so they could defend their homeland." He urged jurors to consider probation."Life has already punished this man," he said. "Do you need to punish him more? It's like we saved him to lock him up. I suggest that isn't the solution to what we have here. We might as well have left him to be eaten by the crocodiles."Whelchel, however, told jurors during closing arguments that prison may be the only way to guarantee that Panchol takes his medication."It took four bullets to stop him in this case," Whelchel said. "He's violent, he's dangerous, he's unpredictable, and he's out of control. If he's left to his own devices, he's going to seriously injure -- or kill -- someone again."He urged the jury to assess the maximum punishment."You think about how long you want to keep him away from us," he said.Panchol was one of about 40 Sudanese refugees known as Lost Boys who came to Tarrant County in 2001 to escape years of civil war and famine. More than 4 million refugees came to the U.S. from Sudan.Panchol had been prescribed medication but was not taking it when he stabbed the UPS driver.Dianna Hunt, 817-390-7084Twitter: @DiannaHuntHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
