Man charged in meat assault, Prosecutors say a 55-year-old southern New Jersey man who assaulted his wife with a meat cleaver has been sentenced to five years in state prison.

Leroy Sickler of Beachwood also received a four-year concurrent term for an unrelated theft charge when he was sentenced Friday. He must serve 85 percent of the longer term before becoming eligible for parole.
Sickler had also been accused of trying to arrange his wife's murder from his jail cell. But those charges were later dismissed as part of his plea deal with Ocean County prosecutors.
Sickler had pleaded guilty in August to assault charges, admitting that he swung a meat cleaver at his wife in their home in September 2008. But the woman ducked out of the way and the cleaver struck a chair.

Source: nj