Jealous ex is sentenced to 13 years in prison for running over man with a pickup truck after seeing him in a car with his former girlfriend

A Kansas man has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for running over another man he thought to be his romantic rival with his pickup truck.

Stephen Cox, 38, from Leavenworth, on Monday was handed a prison term of 13-and-a-half years for an aggravated battery conviction.

According to prosecutors, in May 2016, Cox was behind the wheel of his pickup truck when he observed his ex-girlfriend sitting inside a car with another man in the area of South Broadway and Spruce streets in Leavenworth.

Stephen Cox, 38, of Kansas, has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for an aggravated battery conviction stemming from a May 2016 incident, in which he struck a man with his pickup truck after seeing him with his ex

Cox followed the car and hurled a metal object at it, as Leavenworth Times reported.

When the man who was with Cox's ex-girlfriend stepped out of the vehicle onto the roadway, the 38-year-old accelerated toward him and struck him with his truck.

The victim, who has not been named, suffered a broken leg and several broken ribs but survived.

During his sentencing in Leavenworth County District Court , Cox asked the judge for probation or a shorter term, but his request was denied

During his sentencing hearing in Leavenworth County District Court, Cox appealed to the presiding judge for leniency, asking for a probation, or a shorter sentence, but his request was denied.

Cox had been out on bond but was taken into custody and booked into the county jail on Monday.

'A tragedy like this should never happen,' Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson said. 'Too often we focus on the past when we should be working on our future.'