A man on parole for murder in Wayne County was found guilty today of setting fire to a Detroit apartment building last year, forcing elderly residents to jump from the first and second floors.
Terrell Thornton, 33, faces up to life in prison after a Wayne County Circuit Court jury today found him guilty of one count each of arson and homicide/attempted murder.
Judge Timothy M. Kenny presided over more than four days of testimony about the Aug. 9, 2011 blaze in the early morning hours on Detroit’s east side. Investigators said Thornton set fires in both the doorways of the building on Springle Street, one block south of Mack, just east of Conner, forcing a number of residents in their 60s and 70s to jump from their windows.
http://liarcatchers.com/arson_investigation.html
Nine of the building’s eleven units were occupied. One man had multiple fractures to his leg after jumping from his first-floor unit. Another resident had injuries to her shoulder after leaping from the second floor.
The intended target, a resident of the building, suffered second- and third-degree burns. Investigators said Thornton was angry that the victim had extricated himself from a social group in which Thornton was active.
The man, who is in his early 40s, still wears compression bandages on his wounds.
Thornton’s sentencing is Oct. 16.
Thornton was to be on parole through April, 2013. He was convicted of a July 14, 1996 murder and sentenced on March 17, 1998 to serve 12 to 20 years in prison. He was released on parole on March 4, 2008 after serving 10 years, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections’ Offender Tracking Information System. Information on the circumstances surrounding the case and Thornton’s release were not immediately available.
