Las Vegas, Nevada – 24 year old Samuel Powers sentenced 10 years followed by three years supervised release.
Powers was also ordered to pay almost $80,000 in restitution at his sentencing hearing this Friday. Federal prosecutors say Powers forcibly entered a business called Sport Social on April 15 and set fires using gasoline and Molotov cocktails. He pleaded guilty in July to felony counts of arson and possession of unregistered firearms.
According to the plea agreement,
“When the defendant set the fires, he knew or had cause to believe that human beings were inside a neighboring business housed in the same warehouse as Sport-Social, and thereby created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury,”
U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro said,
“This was a very dangerous offense….I can’t say it enough. Thank goodness none of the individuals in those businesses were physically harmed,”
Sport Social teaches social skills to children with autism through sports and art.