June 06--The last of six men accused of setting fires throughout the city of Jeannette pleaded guilty to arson charges on Wednesday.
Richard Adair Jr., 28, of Jeannette, was sentenced by Westmoreland County Judge Debra Pezze to serve nine to 23 months in jail and one year on probation.
Pezze immediately paroled Adair after she gave him credit for the nearly nine months he has served in jail since his arrest.
"I'm sorry for everything I have done," Adair told the judge.
He pleaded guilty to setting three fires, at 212 N. Fifth St. on Aug. 24, 2010; at 11 N. Fifth St. on Nov. 18, 2010; and at 416 S. Sixth St. on Oct. 19, 2011.
"He was only marginally involved," said Adair's lawyer, Jeff Leonard.
In May, Adair's brother, Roger Adair, 27, of Jeannette, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 to 36 months in jail for his role in torching three properties, including one fire in which a city firefighter was injured.
Local, federal and state agents investigated a string of 20 fires that plagued Jeannette between 2008 and 2012. Five adults and one juvenile were arrested and accused of setting nine of the blazes.
--John Raymond Horne, 22, of Jeannette was sentenced in May to serve to 18 to 36 months in prison in connection with four fires.
--Christopher Allen Jones, 23, of Manor was sentenced on April 29 to serve three years on probation supervision and six months of house arrest with electronic monitoring for his part in a 2008 fire.
--Horne's half brother, Jeffrey Robert Tierney Jr., 24, of Jeannette was sentenced April 29 to serve one year less a day to two years less a day in prison and three years' probation in connection with four fires.
--A juvenile charged in one fire began participating in a fire-setting rehabilitation program in October.
Rich Cholodofsky is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-830-6293 or [email protected]
Copyright 2013 - Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
