August 1, 2014
Seattle Gay Nightclub Arsonist Gets 10 Years in Prison
Bobby McGuire READ TIME: 1 MIN.
SEATTLE - A man who set fire to a crowded Seattle nightclub on New Year's Eve has been sentenced to 10 years in prison - twice what prosecutors asked.
No one was injured when 31-year-old Musab Mohammed Masmari ignited gasoline in a stairwell at Neighbors, a gay nightclub.
Masmari was arrested a month later as he prepared to leave the country. He apologized in a statement to the court and said he doesn't remember his actions because he blacked out after drinking a bottle of cheap whiskey.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to recommend a sentence of no more than five years after Masmari pleaded guilty to arson in U.S. District Court.
The Seattle Times reports that Judge Ricardo Martinez said Friday that while Masmari's intentions could not be proven as a hate crime, "common sense tells us exactly what was on Mr. Masmari's mind when he set that fire."
