A man indicted for aggravated arson was sentenced to eight concurrent years in prison.
Ismael Camacho, 56, appeared in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Thursday and was sentenced to eight years concurrent on several counts of aggravated arson and felonious assault, which are 2nd degree felonies. He was also sentenced to 24 months on a tampering with evidence charge, which will run consecutive with the 8 years for a total of 10 years.
Camacho was sentenced for his part in the arson fires on Cleveland's West 33rd Street on Feb. 10, 2015. One victim Suzanne Borden, who lost her house and pets in the fire, spoke to the court Thursday.
“My animals…were all I had,” Borden said as she cried in the courtroom. "My dog was diabetic. She was blind. I couldn’t get to her. And when the ceiling come down on me, blacking my eyes and not being able to breath, collapsing on the floor…injuring myself in the process. I got myself…I got myself out of my house by the grace of God!”
Borden said she hoped Camacho comes to realize how much damage the fire caused.
LISTEN TO BORDEN'S TESTIMONY IN THE PLAYER ABOVE
Camacho’s attorney said Camacho was told no one would be in the houses when the fires were set to take place. The attorney said Camacho was very sorry and remorseful for the injury and pain Borden endured.
Police said Irving Galarza, another man indicted for the same case, hired Camacho to enter and set fire to an occupied two-family home on West 33rd Street. Camacho then hired Luis G. Cruz-Figueroa, a third man indicted in the same case, to assist him.
The Cleveland assistant fire chief said eight people in three homes were displaced because of the fire. The fires resulted in severe damage to all three homes, two of which had to be demolished. Borden spent nearly a year recovering from her injuries.
Camacho was arrested by Cleveland police on June 24, 2015.
Galarza and Cruz-Figueroa are scheduled to appear in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas on Feb. 11 at 9 a.m.
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