Judge Calls Arsonist ‘Pathetic,’ Gives Him a Year

An elderly man described by a judge as pathetic was sentenced Wednesday to one year in custody for starting a fire in his downtown residential hotel room after he had been evicted.

Municipal Judge Frank Brown handed down the sentence to William Henry Hart, a 76-year-old wheelchair-confined man who also faces federal prosecution for robbing a bank last year--a crime he said he committed only to get money for heart medication.

Saying he was concerned about public safety “and not the pathetic individual that sits in front of me,” Brown ordered Hart to serve a full year in custody, but said he will allow the arsonist to spend the time in a lock-down, residential-care facility rather than jail or prison.

“Mr. Hart is a sad character, but he is a dangerous character,” Brown said.

Hart pleaded guilty to arson one month after he lighted the Jan. 8 fire in his room at the Maryland Hotel. Defense attorney Albert Cazares said his client was driven by desperation because he had been evicted from his home of four years.

“That could be tantamount to a death penalty, given his condition,” Cazares said, referring to the eviction.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Jim Waters argued that Hart’s unpredictability makes him dangerous.

“We have been put on notice that, when things do not go his way, he acts things out,” Waters said. “He endangers the health and safety of those around him.”

Ruling that state prison was not appropriate in this case because of Hart’s rapidly deteriorating health, Brown stayed the minimum three-year term for arson.

“You’re not Al Capone, I know that,” the judge said. “You’re just as much a danger to yourself as you are to others.”

A review hearing will be held Sept. 15 so that Brown can approve a facility where Hart can serve his sentence.

“Stay out of trouble. Stay away from matches. Stay away from bombs,” the judge warned.

Hart was indicted by a federal grand jury last week on charges of robbing the headquarters branch of HomeFed Bank after claiming that he was armed with a bomb.

He elicited public sympathy when he told the press that he committed the Jan. 15, 1991, crime only to obtain the $70 he needed for heart medication.

The U.S. attorney’s office also apparently felt sympathy for him. Prosecutors told Hart they would not bring him to trial on bank robbery charges if he stayed out of trouble for one year. Hart missed the deadline by days when he started the fire at his hotel.

Hart will appear in federal court Friday so attorneys on both sides can discuss the indictment.