Two young men who capped a spree of vandalism last summer by burning a hole in an 1873 Bucks County covered bridge received short prison sentences and steep repair bills yesterday.
Thomas Bennett, 20, and Tyler Sentman, 19, must each pay $35,000 for work done to restore the Knecht's Covered Bridge in Springfield Township.
Bennett, of Richland Township, pleaded guilty in Bucks County Court to arson, conspiracy and criminal mischief. Judge Kenneth G. Biehn ordered him to serve 1 to 12 months in the Bucks County prison, perform 200 hours of community service in Springfield Township, and spend four years on probation. The restitution must be paid during that time, Biehn said.
Sentman, of Georgetown, Del., had pleaded guilty to identical charges March 14. He received 2 to 12 months in the county prison and four years' probation and must pay his share of the restitution.
The Aug. 31 fire burned a three-foot-wide hole in the bridge, which has since been reopened. A replacement for a damaged support beam, spanning the length of the bridge, had to be shipped from Oregon, Chief Deputy District Attorney T. Gary Gambardella said.
The fire happened only two months after six young men torched and destroyed Mood's Covered Bridge in East Rockhill Township. Bennett and Sentman denied being influenced by the earlier blaze.
"We did not set out that night to burn the bridge," Sentman said.
Before setting fire to the bridge, the two had vandalized Palisades High School, painting swastikas and inflammatory words on a scoreboard. They spray-painted a road, stole plastic lettering from a sign at the Bucks County Nursery in Nockamixon Township, and painted a truck at the nursery.
The two then placed the plastic letters on the bridge and ignited them with a lighter. A passing motorist spotted the flames and doused them with water.
"The bridge? There was no excuse," Bennett said. "Just immaturity."
Distributed by the Associated Press
