RI man who torched a police car sentenced to 3 years in prison

A Rhode Island gentleman who poured a flammable liquid into a police cruiser in the course of a night of violent unrest in Providence in the summer season of 2020, turning a small fireplace into an inferno that turned the motor vehicle into a charred wreck, was sentenced Thursday to three a long time in prison.

Nicholas Scaglione, 32, expressed regret at his listening to in the U.S. District Court in Providence, at which he was also sentenced to two yrs of probation and requested to fork out the Providence Police Department the $52,000 price of the cruiser.

Scaglione committed the act in the early morning hrs of June 2, 2020, in what previous Gov. Gina Raimondo referred to as an “structured attack on the community” exterior the Providence Place shopping mall.

What started off as a tranquil gathering to protest the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis was hijacked by some in search of violence, and Scaglione grew to become aspect of a “mob” bent on destruction, authorities said.

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“This defendant chose to pretty basically enthusiast the flames of a riot,” U.S. Lawyer Zachary Cunha stated Thursday. “Incinerating a law enforcement auto, he needlessly endangered the lives of law enforcement and the general public, and dishonored the happy legacy of Individuals who have labored for modify via peaceful implies.”

In advance of intensifying the fireplace, the Cranston man stood on leading of the unoccupied cruiser, threw anything at it and joined other folks in hoping to flip it on to its aspect, prosecutors stated.

In the aftermath of the destruction, the FBI introduced surveillance photos and movie from the scene which led to tips from people who know Scaglione. Police reviewed cellphone messages in which he admitted to encouraging burn the cruiser and expressed animosity towards regulation enforcement.

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“That was pent up many years of rage and stress with the way I’ve seen and been dealt with by law enforcement,” he reported in just one textual content. “That cop car can be replaced. Peoples lives can’t.”

Scaglione pleaded responsible in April to conspiracy to commit arson.

He at first pleaded guilty in March 2021 to a cost of destructive attempt to problems or ruin a motor vehicle, but was recharged right after a disagreement more than his sentence.

Scaglione’s attorney, William Dimitri, stated in courtroom Thursday his client is a “very good kid” who “designed a awful, existence-altering determination.”

“I consider the court docket gave comprehensive thought of the carry out billed and Mr. Scaglione’s qualifications and took into consideration that this carry out was really substantially an aberration,” the lawyer explained in an e-mail, calling the sentence fair supplied the conditions.

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A next person charged in the case was located incompetent to stand demo in March 2021 and was requested to a healthcare facility to undergo mental well being treatment. That scenario is pending.