3 men convicted in public works arson

The three men accused of the October arson of a Pocomoke City public works facility have each been sentenced to 18 months in jail for their roles in the incident.

Charles E. Furst, 19, and Matthew A. Depaolis, 20, each pleaded guilty Monday morning to one of the 13 charges levied against them for the destruction of the Young Street maintenance garage on October 5. The third defendant, Nicholas J. Depaolis was sentenced to 18 months for malicious destruction of property at a plea hearing in May.
In a deal with the state, Furst had 42 months suspended of the five year imprisonment penalty for first degree malicious burning of property. The Pocomoke City resident — who confessed to law enforcement that he lit the fire with a Zippo lighter — will also pay $286,000 to the city in restitution.
Matthew A. Depaolis received the same sentence as Nicholas, his brother.