Tompkins County Courthouse (Ithaca Voice file photo)
ITHACA, N.Y. — A Groton man was sentenced in Tompkins County Court on Friday afternoon for breaking into a car and setting it on fire.
Harry White, 31, was arrested last year on July 19 after he intentionally damaged a motor vehicle at 169 Old Stage Road in Groton. Court records say the 2009 Chevy Malibu was found on fire just after 7 p.m. with a smashed front passenger panel.
Police say a can of gasoline was found near the scene, and court records stated the vehicle was so extensively damaged by the fire that it was unusable.
White admitted later to police over the phone that he had broken into the car and started the fire. He pleaded guilty in court to his charges on Oct. 24, 2016.
White was represented by attorney Richard Urda, who said in court that White, “does acknowledge he has a drug and alcohol problem.”
Judge John Rowley, while addressing White, said, “This is a disaster … if you look back on your history, you could see it coming. However long this addiction has dogged you, you haven’t gotten on the right side of it – it doesn’t have to be this way.”
White is sentenced to between 1 ⅓ and 4 years in state prison for third-degree attempted arson.
