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Larry Hickmon, age 30, of Middletown, was sentenced on Thursday, March 24, to 18 years in state prison and five years of post-release supervision, according to Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler.
Hickmon pleaded guilty to second-degree arson on Thursday, Jan. 27, in connection with the May 17 fire at an apartment complex on Concord Lane in Middletown.
Hickmon was accused of assaulting his girlfriend in their shared apartment and starting a fire in the apartment after she left, Hoovler reported.
In his guilty plea, Hickmon admitted he knew there were other residents in the apartment complex at the time he set the fire, the DA's Office said.
No one was injured in the fire, but the residences of multiple families were destroyed, Hoovler said.
“This defendant’s selfish actions could easily have resulted in death or serious physical injury to residents of the apartment building, as well as to first responders,” Hoovler said. “The close to two decades that this defendant will be incarcerated reflects the utter disregard for human life and property that he exhibited. My office will continue to seek stiff state prison sentences for arsonists.”
The Middletown Police Department investigated the case, and the City of Middletown Fire Department assisted at the scene.
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