The former shipyard worker who started a fire on the USS Miami submarine was sentenced Friday to a little more than 17 years in federal prison.
The judge weighed Casey Fury’s mental health against the danger his actions placed on the responding firefighters and the cost of the damage, says US Attorney Thomas Delahanty.
“The second fire, which actually caused very little damage, was extremely significant," Delahanty says, "because of the defendant’s knowledge of the circumstances of the first fire.”
Fury pleaded guilty in November, with a plea deal that recommended a range of roughly 15 to 20 years for the sentence. Had the judge chosen a sentence higher than that, Fury would’ve been able to withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial.
The first and biggest fire Fury set last May caused $450 million in damage to the submarine that was undergoing an extensive overhaul. Fury claims to have set the fires in an effort to leave work early.