Wal*Mart suffered over $1 million in damages and had to close the store for 2 days yet the article does not mention any restitution coming from the arson.
I'd say this young man should have received at least a year and a much larger fine than the $200.00 fine he received. Maybe that would make him think twice the next time he decides to set fire to another persons property.
THIS is exactly why we have so much crime in today's society, the judges go way to easy on these people.
The article below is from the Daily times
The man accused of setting fire to bags of potato chips in the Pocomoke City Walmart was found guilty Friday but will not serve any further jail time.
Vincent V. Harmon, 20, who has been behind bars since Feb. 12, was sentenced to time served for a single count of conspiracy to commit second-degree arson. The Pocomoke City resident was also given two years unsupervised probation and a $200 fine.
Worcester County District Court Judge Gerald V. Purnell said the sentence was an effort at giving Harmon a second chance.
"I could send you today to 20 years in prison, so you need to keep that in mind," Purnell said. "One bad decision can change your life."
According to Worcester County Assistant State's Attorney Kristin Heiser, on the evening of Feb. 11, Harmon and another man, Lamar Watson, entered the Pocomoke City Walmart, where Harmon used a lighter to set fire to bags of potato chips on the second shelf from the top. When the fire caught, Harmon and Watson quickly left the store.
Nine fire extinguishers were used to put out the blaze. In total, the store sustained $1 million in damage and destroyed merchandise, Heiser said. The supercenter, Pocomoke's only full-service grocery store, had to close for two days.
The incident was caught on surveillance cameras, and employees recognized Harmon, who had previously worked at the store.
The two men were arrested the following day. Watson will face a judge on similar charges at the end of June.
About a dozen of Harmon's family and friends were gathered in the courtroom for the proceedings. Several others, including the principal of Pocomoke High School, which Harmon attended, wrote letters to the judge attesting to his character.
Richard A. Parolski, Harmon's attorney, explained how his client had played basketball at the high school before getting an academic scholarship to a college in South Carolina, which he attended for a year before transferring to University of Maryland Eastern Shore to be closer to home.
"This is a guy you should take a chance on," Parolski said.
VIA: DelmarvaNow.com
I'd make him do lots of community service. I would also find some training videos on how to treat and rescue people trapped and burned in fires, fireman that become trapped in fires, fires started by arsonists and just any old film that would make his behind stay awake at night!
ReplyDeleteTotally unreal that he just gets away with nothing.
Maybe he should have atleast gotten some psychiatric help. No matter how good a student he is, no matter how many scholarships he received, no matter how good his character is, the boy's not right in the head.
ReplyDeleteI believe that he learned something from this. There are people in jail that commit crime after crime....they are the ones that need help or are not right in the head. This young man, I believe has learned his lesson. Also, think about it...Walmart didn't loose anything because they got a check cut for the million dollars the next day.
ReplyDeleteAnon 8:18
ReplyDeleteHere's a news flash! Most criminals that are in jails/prisons today didn't start out as criminals. The time for small punishment was when this young man WAS A CHILD! He is a grown man now.
I would think that anyone with half a brain cell would KNOW that starting a fire in a store is ARSON! That's why it's a CRIME.
Why would a previous employee of Walmart want to start a fire?
Walmart didn't lose anything???? How about a few days of business? How about the workers that maybe lost some weekly hours?
AND what about the fireman that had to leave their homes to go to this fire!
And have you given any thought of who helped PAY that insurance premium that enabled Walmart to be reimbursed?? Well, if you shop at Walmart ......YOU DID! And so did all the other shoppers......it's added into the price of their goods, I am sure.
Oh Okay, so WalMart didn't lose anything!!!! NICE ATTITUDE Anon 8:18 am.
ReplyDeleteI would think that Harmon would have known by age 6 that lighting a fire in a crowded public place is a NO NO!
I wonder if his family or the others who "attested" to his "character" would be whistling a different tune if it had been their house he lit on fire?