"People Could Have Died," Judge Tells Ex-Lancaster County, PA, Firefighter at Sentencing
A former Lancaster County firefighter was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to setting multiple fires that caused more than $55,000 in damage.
On March 9, Joshua S. Lightcap, 24, of Columbia, pleaded guilty to 19 offenses, including arson and criminal conspiracy to commit arson.
Judge Jeffery Conrad told Lightcap, “If things had gotten out of control, people could have died,” as he handed down the sentence.
Lightcap, who served with the Hempfield Volunteer Fire Department, will spend one year minus a day to two years minus a day in prison. After his release, he will serve three years of probation.
The fires, started by Lightcap and two other former firefighters in October and November 2024, caused more than $55,000 in damages to multiple East Hempfield Township properties.
Two of the fires, set days apart, were in the same field on the 6100 block of Metzler Road. A third fire, which started on the 1300 block of Junction Road, damaged corn bales and agricultural equipment.
Additional fires damaged a 120-year-old Amtrak storage shed on the 100 block of East Main Street and outdoor equipment on the 200 block of Leisure Road.
The Amtrak shed had to be demolished to stop the fire from spreading to a nearby active railway.
A prosecutor noted one of the fires set by Lightcap and two others put responding firefighters in danger as powerful winds swept through the region
When asked why he set the fires, Lightcap told the court he had “no idea” and said he let other people persuade him into destructive actions.
An attorney representing Lightcap said his client was suffering from multiple untreated mental health issues at the time.
As part of his sentence, Lightcap must pay more than $55,000 in restitution to multiple victims.
East Hempfield Township Police and Amtrak Lancaster Police filed the charges.
As of Tuesday, the cases against Howard and the juvenile are ongoing.
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