Ind. Man Sent to Prison for Attempted Arson

Aug. 27--A man was sentenced Monday in Allen Superior Court to a total of 24 years Monday for arson, battery, intimidation, and burglary after he tried to set fire to his estranged girlfriend's apartment .

Mardel D. Hill, 22, had been arrested in September. He had been accused of trying to set fire to his estranged girlfriend's apartment in July 2012, but a fire suppression device over the stove had smothered the burning food.

Judge John Surbeck told Hill that the latter is among the worst of the worst for his actions and in the 25 years Surbeck has been on the bench he had never seen a more serious case of attempted arson. Surbeck said Hill had no thought for anyone else in the complex when he set the fire, which could have turned out very differently had there been no fire prevention measures in place.

Chad Geradot, arson investigator for the Fort Wayne Fire Department, spoke at Hill's sentencing. Geradot pointed out that even though no one was injured, if the fire had not been smothered, the 16-unit building at 4700 Reed Road could easily have caught fire. He also told the court more firefighters are killed responding to a scene than in the actual fire. A total of three rigs had responded to the call. Geradot said luckily for the residents the apartment complex had installed a device called a "stovetop firestop," which consists of two canister devices attached to the range hood that automatically release flame retardant chemicals when a sensor is touched by flames.

After the sentencing Geradot said outside the courtroom that the devices are very inexpensive to install, save lives and prevent thousands of dollars in property damage. The most common fire call Geradot said is from food left on the stove.

Surbeck found no mitigating circumstances in his judgment, only aggravators. Surbeck noted Hill's lengthy juvenile record, his failed attempts at rehabilitation and anger management, his disregard for the system and his continued desire to hurt people.

Surbeck gave Hill 10 years for burglary, a Class B felony, and 20 years for arson, a Class B felony, to be served concurrently; two years for criminal mischief, a Class D felony, and two years to run consecutively to a charge of intimidation, a Class D felony. On a related case with his estranged girlfriend Hill received two years for intimidation, a Class D felony, and one year for battery resulting in a bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor, to run concurrently and consecutive to the other charges.

Hill's estranged girlfriend had appeared in court and tried to take some of the blame for what had happened. Surbeck told Hill in no way was the woman responsible for any of the things that had happened.

Copyright 2013 - The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Ind.)