Man who plotted Rockford mall attack gets 35 years

Derrick Shareef, who plotted a grenade attack on CherryVale Mall in Rockford just days before Christmas 2006, was sentenced to 35 years in a U.S. prison.

U.S. District Judge David H. Coar in Chicago meted out Shareef's punishment today. Shareef told the judge he'd been an adherent to a radical form of Islam and has since recognized that he erred in his beliefs and in plotting the attack.

"In truth, I'm not an extremist. I've accepted that I used to be," said Shareef, who turned 24 years old today, according to a prosecutor.

The case is U.S. v. Shareef, 06cr919, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).

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