The man convicted in Elkview an McDonald’s stabbing learns his sentence

A man accused in a stabbing at a McDonald’s in Kanawha County was sentenced to a century in prison Monday. Richard Thornton was sentenced to 100 years in prison in a case involving a stabbing and robbery at a McDonald’s in Elkview in January 2023. Thornton, who was working at the restaurant at the time, pleaded guilty to following a 56-year-old man into a restroom where he stabbed him and took his wallet. At the time of the incident, Thornton was on probation in connection to a 2019 case where he was arrested for pulling a knife on a paramedic while riding in the back of an ambulance in Elkview. The judge on Monday sentenced Thornton to the lengthy prison sentence due to his violent criminal history.