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Man sentenced to 5 years in synagogue shooting

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A 22-year-old Salt Lake City man has been sentenced to five years in prison for shooting out windows at a Utah synagogue two years ago in what prosecutors considered a religiously motivated attack.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release Tuesday that Macon Openshaw must also pay $1,969 to repair the damage at the Congregation Kol Ami synagogue in Salt Lake City.

Openshaw pleaded guilty in April to two charges of unlawful gun possession.

Prosecutors say that Openshaw acknowledged as part of a plea deal that he fired three rounds from a .22-caliber handgun at the unoccupied temple because of its religious identity.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the conviction and sentence shows that religiously motivated violence won’t be tolerated.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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