YOUNGSTOWN Arsonist is sentenced to 5 years in prison

The MLK Boulevard man isn't eligible for early release.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Willie Hill knew full well that Clara Smith, a woman who'd been like a mother to him, was asleep in her West Dewey Avenue home the day he set the place on fire.
The 37-year-old Martin Luther King Boulevard man insisted he didn't mean to hurt Smith, or anyone else.
"I was on the drugs and alcohol," said Smith, wearing handcuffs and an orange, size XXXL inmate uniform from the Mahoning County Jail.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of common pleas court said he was infuriated by Hill's "excuse" of chemical addiction and sentenced him to five years in prison.
That's a year longer than was recommended by Assistant Prosecutor Patrick Pochiro when Hill pleaded guilty last week to attempted aggravated arson and burglary.
If the judge had followed the recommendation, Hill would have been eligible to apply for judicial release, formerly known as shock probation, after serving six months. Under Ohio law, people sentenced to five years or more are not eligible for judicial release until serving at least five years.
Not a hero
That was good news to Lt. Kevin J. Johnson of the Youngstown Fire Department, who asked Judge Krichbaum to lower the boom on Hill.
"The gall and contempt that Willie showed in trying to present himself as a hero" was disturbing, Johnson said.
Hill worked as a handyman for Smith, 71, whom he'd known all his life. The day of the fire, she was asleep in the house while he was supposed to be repairing the front porch.
Instead, authorities say, he removed a TV and other items from the home, then set fire to the curtains in an upstairs bedroom.
When a neighbor saw smoke and shouted that Smith was still inside, Hill crawled into the house through a window and rescued her. He then went back inside and put out the fire, using water from the bathtub.
Fire officials at the scene initially praised Hill as a hero, until finding out he was actually responsible for the fire.
"I doubt you'll be getting any commendations from the fire department," the judge said.
bjackson@vindy.com