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Michigan Man Gets 20 to 40 Years for Revenge Arson That Trapped Six in Bensalem

Prosecutors say he targeted the home over his ex-girlfriend’s online relationship with a resident.

Overview

  • Common Pleas Judge Matthew D. Weintraub imposed a 20- to 40-year state prison term and ordered more than $500,000 in restitution, with no credit for time served.
  • Harrison Jones, 22, entered a no-contest plea to six counts of attempted homicide and aggravated animal cruelty, and pleaded guilty to arson and risking catastrophe.
  • Officials said Jones drove more than 700 miles from Rockford, Michigan, ignited an accelerant that triggered an explosion, and trapped six people who escaped with injuries as two dogs died.
  • Bensalem detectives used neighborhood surveillance footage and automated license plate readers to track a Volkswagen Passat across state lines before Michigan authorities arrested Jones with visible burn injuries.
  • Survivors described jumping from second-story windows and lasting trauma, and the judge said Jones aimed to “effectuate maximum damage.”