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Woman gets 5 years for southern Illinois nursing home arson

Posted June 15, 2018 7:00 am

The Associated Press

CAHOKIA, Ill. (AP) - An East St. Louis woman who set a nursing home where she worked on fire has been sentenced to five years in prison for arson.

U.S. Attorney Donald Bryce says 50-year-old Lori M. Jones also was ordered to pay $1 million in restitution and serve three years of supervised release after her prison sentence.

Jones worked as a nursing assistant at the Cahokia Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, which caught fire on May 31, 2016.

The Belleville News-Democrat reports Jones told investigators she use a lighter to ignite clothes in a closet occupied by two bed-ridden residents. Surveillance footage showed her leaving the room shortly after the smoke was detected.

Firefighters and employees safely evacuated the building without any serious injuries. A few residents were treated for smoke inhalation.

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Information from: Belleville News-Democrat, http://www.bnd.com

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