Plea entered by owner of State Fair ride that malfunctioned

RALEIGH, NC (AP) – The owner of a ride that malfunctioned at the North Carolina State Fair and injured a family has entered a plea to a charge of obstruction of justice.

WRAL-TV reports Joshua Gene Macaroni entered an Alford plea on Friday. That means Macaroni maintains his innocence while pleading guilty because there’s enough evidence to find him guilty.

A Superior Court Judge sentenced Macaroni to five to 15 months in prison, and suspended that to a month in jail. Macaroni must pay a $22,500 fine.

Five people were injured on Oct. 24, 2013, when The Vortex started up unexpectedly as people were disembarking. Investigators determined a safety mechanism had been disabled.

Macaroni had been charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)