BY Peter E. Bortner
The Pottsville Republican
SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, Pa. — Former firefighter John M. Yerusavage must spend at least eight years in state prison and pay more than $10.5 million to his victims after being sentenced Thursday in Schuylkill County Court for setting four fires last September.
“A little nervous” is how Yerusavage, 32, of Auburn, said he felt before Judge D. Michael Stine ordered him to spend eight to 16 years in a state correctional institution, plus eight more years on probation.
“This is an event that has been traumatic to a lot of people,” Stine said before imposing the sentence, which also requires Yerusavage to pay costs and $200 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities. “The real remedy is to go back ... and somehow make things go away.”
Full story: Yerusavage pleaded guilty but mentally ill