A Gainesville man was convicted Thursday of attempted murder in connection with an October 2012 knife attack, Northeastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Lee Darragh said.

Derek Alan Norton, 38, was convicted of attempted murder, aggravated assault, possession of a knife during the commission of crime and third-degree cruelty to a child in relation to a knife attack on Heather Richardson on October 25, 2012, at a Wills Street address, according to Darragh.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date before Judge Kathlene Gosselin in Hall County Superior Court.

The maximum possible sentence on each count is 30 years to serve for attempted murder, 20 years to serve for aggravated assault, and five years consecutive for the possession of knife charge. Cruelty to a child in the third degree is a misdemeanor.