Ohio man gets prison time for arson at black church

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man has been sentenced to four years and three months in prison for a racially motivated arson at a church with a mostly black congregation.

Twenty-three-year-old Ronald Pudder of Conneaut was sentenced today in federal court here. He pleaded guilty to a hate crime in November.

Pudder, who is white, was charged in the midweek fire last May that damaged the entrance to the First Azusa Apostolic Faith Church of God in Conneaut. No one was hurt.

Pudder’s attorney told the judge in an appeal for leniency that his client was sorry for irrational behavior he blames on alcohol and drug abuse.