It Figures

10

A Waterloo, Iowa, man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for setting his ex-girlfriend’s house on fire. Kelvin Scott was sentenced for second-degree arson after a judge refused his request for a new trial. Authorities say Scott, 44, burned his ex-girlfriend’s home in early December after calling her on the telephone and threatening her. He was found guilty in February. Scott is also awaiting trial for second-degree criminal mischief. That charge stems from allegations he destroyed furniture and other items at the same house and began flooding the basement in September.

$200,000

A fire at a Kenosha, Wis., Civil War museum caused smoke and water damage estimated to be possibly as high $200,000. Kenosha Fire Battalion Chief Matt Haerter says the fire appeared to be active for hours before a maintenance worker heard alarms go off. Authorities believe spontaneously combusting oil rags may have sparked the fire. The sprinkler system appeared to have been on for hours and was able to keep the fire under control before firefighters extinguished the fire. Haerter says a significant amount of smoke was produced. The museum was due to open to the public, with its grand opening in June. The museum’s director could not immediately be reached for comment.

$15.5 Million

Illinois authorities say the Will County Sheriff’s deputies who lost a $15.5 million judgment to the parents of slain 3-year-old Riley Fox will not be forced into bankruptcy. Both sides have reportedly agreed to a deal that gives the dead girl’s parents, Kevin and Melissa Fox, the rights to the deputies’ insurance claims in exchange for excusing them from personal liability. Riley disappeared from her Wilmington home in June 2004, and her body was found in nearby Forked Creek. Some months later, Kevin Fox was arrested and charged with his daughter’s murder, but was released after DNA found on the girl’s body was shown not to be his. Fox and his wife sued Will County and five detectives, accusing them of framing him for the crime.