Aurora man gets 15 years for machete attack

An Aurora man was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for slashing at his former neighbor with a machete-like knife, authorities said.

Nicholas A. Worley, 26, who had faced up to 30 years, was sentenced by Kane County Judge Thomas E. Mueller, who also ordered him to pay $3,600 in restitution to the victim.

About 4:50 a.m. on July 6, 2009, prosecutors said, Worley pounded on the apartment door of a former neighbor on the 1000 block of Fifth Avenue in Aurora and began arguing with the man. Wielding a 15-inch blade, Worley then slashed at the victim's face and neck, leaving a deep laceration on the victim's left forearm as he tried to shield himself, authorities said.

A jury convicted Worley of armed violence, a Class X felony, on March 2. He must serve at least 85 percent of the 15-year sentence with credit for 248 days in the jail, or a minimum of about 12 years.