FORT WALTON BEACH — A 30-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 10 years of probation after being convicted of an attack with a meat cleaver.

Brian Allen Ruschmeier was sentenced Monday by Circuit Court Judge John T. Brown on charges of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm with a weapon, aggravated assault with a weapon and battery.

The charges came after an Oct. 11, 2014, incident where Ruschmeier approached a man and woman at the Fort Walton Landing and asked for a lighter, according to a media release from the State Attorney's Office.

When they told him no, he pulled out a meat cleaver and hit the man in the head with it, the release said.

He then threatened the woman and committed battery on a third person further out on the dock before police arrived, the release said.

The investigation found that he didn't know any of the victims.

The victim, who reportedly had a significant laceration on his head, was treated and released at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, previous stories reported.