Judge delays sentencing Calif. professor on arsons

Judge delays sentencing Calif. professor on arsons

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A judge has delayed sentencing for a day for a California professor who set a series of fires and sent private emails describing a plan to attack his son’s high school after the teen killed himself.

Judge Gregg L. Prickett says he’ll sentence 49-year-old Rainer Reinscheid on Thursday after reviewing notes from more than four hours of statements from victims, supporters and lawyers.

The University of California, Irvine pharmaceutical sciences professor faces three to 18 years in prison. He pleaded guilty last month to six counts of arson, three counts of attempted arson and resisting or obstructing an officer.

Reinscheid has apologized in court, saying he lost himself after his 14-year-old son hanged himself last year after being disciplined by a school administrator for stealing.