JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Florida man was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison in a Jacksonville arson case, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida said.
Pedro Sanchez was also ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution.
Recommended Videos
Sanchez, 35, of Plant City, was found guilty Jan. 3, 2019, following a bench trial.
According to court documents, on Jan. 10, 2018, Sanchez set fire to a house located on Lamanto Avenue North in Arlington. The house belonged to his employer, and the employer had assigned Sanchez to renovate the house and prepare it for sale. Eyewitnesses observed Sanchez walking away from the house after it had erupted into flames and Sanchez later admitted to law enforcement that he had set the house on fire, prosecutors said.
The case was investigated by the Florida Bureau of Fire, Arson, and Explosives Investigations, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
It was another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program, which is a nationwide crime-reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities.