San Diego
A former resident of the Sara Francis Hometel was sentenced to one year in honor camp Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to recklessly causing the Dec. 20 fire there with an unattended cigarette.
Reginald Milton Hughes, 46, was placed on five years probation and ordered to abstain from alcohol by San Diego Superior Court Judge J. Richard Haden.
Haden ordered Hughes to pay $1,840 to the state’s restitution fund. Hughes, who is unemployed, said he could repay at a rate of $25 per month.
The downtown hotel fire left hundreds homeless during the Christmas holidays and caused $500,000 in damages. A second fire several months ago destroyed the structure.
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