La Salle man charged with knife threats gets 4 years in prison

A homeless man charged in a pair of La Salle knife threats pleaded guilty Friday to felony charges and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Tony D. Sander, 28, appeared Friday in La Salle County Circuit Court for a motion hearing when attorneys announced that they had reached a deal. He pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, a Class 3 felony carrying two to five years in prison, and aggravated assault, a Class 4 felony carrying one to three years.

Sander wielded what La Salle police called “a large butcher knife” Sept. 7 and threatened to stab people. Twelve days later, La Salle police were dispatched to the 1100 block of Crosat Street in reference to a man with a knife. Sander approached an officer with a knife and “initially refused to drop the knife” but eventually dropped it.