The Associated Press
ABILENE, Texas — A man once hailed for rescuing youngsters from a burning apartment was sentenced to 20 years in prison for starting the blaze by tossing a lit marijuana cigar into a nearby trash bin.
Kristopher Leija, 26, received the maximum sentence from a judge Thursday, two months after he was convicted of felony vehicular arson for the 2003 fire in this West Texas city.
Leija had told authorities that he tossed the cigar into the contractor’s bin after spotting a police car. The flames spread from the trash bin to the apartment complex, leaving about 70 families homeless. No one was hurt.
Leija was lauded after he was videotaped helping four children escape. But the resulting TV coverage led to his arrest the next day after sheriff’s deputies recognized him as a probation violator for a burglary conviction.
Investigators identified Leija as a suspect in the fire early on, but he was not charged until 2005.
At Thursday’s hearing, he repeated that he had not meant to start a fire but took responsibility for it and apologzied.