Joshua Scott Lightcap, 24, of Columbia, was sentenced to one year minus a day to two years minus a day in county prison, followed by three years of probation, after pleading guilty earlier this month to multiple charges tied to a string of arsons in East Hempfield Township, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office.
Lightcap pleaded guilty on March 9 to 19 offenses, including arson and criminal conspiracy to commit arson, after investigators determined he and two others set five fires between October and November, authorities said.
Those fires caused more than $55,000 in damage across multiple properties, including farmland, sheds, and a 120-year-old Amtrak storage building that had to be demolished to protect a nearby active rail line, First Assistant District Attorney Travis Anderson said.
Two of the fires were set in the same field along the 6100 block of Metzler Road just days apart. Another blaze on the 1300 block of Junction Road destroyed corn bales and agricultural materials, while a shed fire on Leisure Road damaged tools and outdoor equipment, prosecutors detailed.
During sentencing, Judge Jeffrey Conrad warned Lightcap about the danger of his actions, telling him that firefighters are typically admired for protecting the public.
“But if things had gotten out of control,” Conrad said, “people could have died.”
Authorities noted that windy conditions at the time of at least one fire placed responding firefighters at risk.
When asked why he committed the crimes, Lightcap told the court he had “no idea,” adding that he allowed others to influence his actions. His defense attorney said he struggled with untreated mental health issues at the time.
As part of his sentence, Lightcap must also pay more than $55,000 in restitution to the victims whose properties were damaged.
The case was investigated by East Hempfield Township Police Officer Brian Dilliplaine and Amtrak Lancaster Police Officer Robert Weidner.
Co-defendant Mason Scott Howard’s case remains active in Lancaster County Court, where he is awaiting a pre-trial conference, according to court records obtained by Daily Voice.
Howard, 22, of Akron, faces multiple charges including conspiracy to agricultural vandalism, possession of instruments of crime, recklessly endangering another person, and related offenses tied to the same series of fires.
His bail was previously set at $50,000 unsecured, and several status conferences in the case have been continued, with the next hearing scheduled for late March, court records show.
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