A man who attempted to murder a caseworker for the Department of Child Safety in Mesa last year has been sentenced to 17.5 years in prison, authorities announced Friday.

According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Deandre Johnson strangled the victim in the lobby of a Mesa building where DCS had offices last November. He livestreamed the assault on Facebook.

“It’s not just the violence of this crime, but that he livestreamed it for the world to see, that makes it so alarming,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in the announcement.

Details about man’s attempt to kill DCS worker in Mesa

Prior to the attack, the caseworker interviewed Johnson’s daughter alone in a room as part of an investigation, according to authorities. This angered Johnson, who approached the caseworker from behind and put him in a chokehold with both arms.

Johnson continuously told the caseworker he was a “dead man” and maintained the chokehold for about two and a half minutes, until the victim passed out, according to authorities.

When Johnson noticed the victim was still breathing, he resumed strangling him.

Throughout the lengthy onslaught, onlookers sought to interfere. After finally releasing the caseworker, Johnson became aggressive toward the spectators, attempting to frighten them.

Johnson’s entire interaction with the caseworker, including the attack, was livestreamed on Facebook.

Johnson eventually departed the scene. After hours of pursuit, the Mesa Police Department apprehended him.

A jury found him guilty on one count of attempted first-degree murder, four misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct, and one count of unlawful flight from law enforcement.

“There is no justification for this defendant’s ambush attack on someone who was simply doing his job to protect kids,” Mitchell said.