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Arsonist gets four years for burning his own house
Published 12:00 p.m., December 10, 2009
A local man convicted of burning down his own house has been sentenced to more than four years in jail.
A jury found Ray Anthony Williams, 55, guilty of first degree arson in October in connection with a fire that destroyed his rural Elizabeth home in September 2006. He was sentenced Tuesday to 50 months in prison.
Williams, whose earlier conviction was sent to an appeals court, will receive credit for about 30 months already served. He must also pay about $202,800 in restitution for insurance payments to his spouse.
According to a criminal complaint, Williams woke his stepson and brought him to a family member’s house about an hour before fire was reported at his home along County Highway 10 west of Elizabeth.
Williams had also asked his stepson to move family photos from the house to a separate storage building, according to the complaint. Those photos were later located by authorities.
Authorities searching the storage building also found cardboard that matched a note discovered by firefighters. The note, which was pinned to a car parked in front of the house, contained a racial slur, according to the complaint.
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