Man sentenced to 7 years in attack on ex-girlfriend

MOUNT CLEMENS (AP) -- A judge has given a seven-year prison sentence to a man who made a plea deal to accusations he tried to kill his ex-girlfriend and stuff her into a Christmas tree bag in the basement of her suburban Detroit home. Jonathan Elbers of Tuscola County was about to stand trial last month when he pleaded no contest to attempted murder and home invasion. Macomb County Circuit Judge Mary Chrzanowski sentenced him last Thursday. A no contest plea isn't an admission of guilt, but is treated as such for sentencing. Authorities say officers went to Charlotte Ventimiglia's Chesterfield Township home in April 2013 to check on her safety and heard her scream. They say Elbers escaped from officers after a struggle and was arrested three days later hiding in a deer blind. Published: Mon, Feb 24, 2014