A Lackawanna County judge on Monday sentenced a Bethlehem man to between four and eights years in a state prison for setting fire to a Scranton apartment building in 2018.
Judge Andy Jarbola’s sentence came moments after he denied Jody Tighe’s bid to withdraw his guilty plea to two counts of aggravated arson and one count of recklessly endangering another person.
Tighe, 43, doused the back porch of 640 Willow St. with gasoline and set it ablaze Feb. 19, 2018, as retaliation against a man he believed had sex with his girlfriend, the police said.
The fire displaced 10 people, including a city police officer who lived there. A firefighter injured his back, shoulder and leg fighting the second-alarm blaze.
Tighe, of 256 North St., pleaded guilty in January. Nearly three months later, he sought to withdraw his plea.
Tighe’s attorney, Nicole Lermitte, argued the case against Tighe is “purely circumstantial.”
But Jarbola found evidence of Tighe’s guilt “overwhelming” and believed his motion to withdraw his plea was a “delay tactic.”
Before sentencing, Lermitte touched on her client’s childhood in foster care and listied the many medals Tighe earned while serving in the military, including the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Jarbola recognized Tighe’s service and noted his talent as an artist. Of the arson, he said, “what possessed you to do this, I’ll never know.”
The judge ordered Tighe to spend two years on probation after completing his sentence. He must pay $2,449 to the Lackawanna County district attorney’s office and more than $15,000 in restitution to the victims.