Man who torched Chicago police SUV sentenced to 34 months

CHICAGO (AP) - A federal judge sentenced a Chicago man to nearly three years in prison Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to setting a police SUV on fire while wearing a Joker mask during widespread May 2020 demonstrations over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood sentenced 33-year-old Timothy O'Donnell to 34 months.

O'Donnell pleaded guilty in February to one count of interfering with law enforcement during the commission of civil disorder.

'œHe set a car on fire in the middle of a crowd,'ť Wood said. 'œHe did it in a way that was intended to target law enforcement. He did it in a way that could have caused serious injury or death. Fortunately, it did not.'ť

Before he was sentenced, O'Donnell apologized 'œto those whose businesses were left in utter ruin'ť and said he was sorry 'œif I hurt Chicago's character in any way.'ť

In a plea agreement, O'Donnell said he would pay $58,125 restitution to the Chicago Police Department to cover the cost of the damaged vehicle.

O'Donnell has been in custody since his June 2020 arrest.

Prosecutors said that a downtown protest had grown violent on the afternoon of May 30, 2020, when O'Donnell was seen on video taken by a bystander approaching the parked police vehicle, placing a cloth inside the gas tank and lighting it with a lighter.