Lawyer accepts apology from hostage taker

JACKSONVILLE - A lawyer testified Thursday that he has received an apology and harbors no ill will toward a gunman who held him hostage for several hours and threatened to blow up a high-rise building.

Lawyer Christopher Hazelip, Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton and Duval County Judge Sharon Tanner also testified in John Knight's sentencing hearing as Circuit Judge Michael Weatherby decides how long Knight will spend in prison.

The hearing will continue today.

Knight pleaded guilty in March to charges of false imprisonment, armed fake impersonation of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, carrying a concealed firearm and perpetrating a bomb hoax. The aggravated assault charge carries a minimum sentence of three years.

Knight's plea agreement calls for a sentence of five to 20 years.

In August, Knight took Hazelip hostage to force the televised resignation of Judge Tanner, who had sentenced him to a day in jail years earlier.

Hazelip refused to give a recommendation on the amount of prison time Knight should serve.

"I don't need a pound of flesh," he said.

[Last modified June 3, 2005, 01:16:00]