A South Carolina man will serve prison time after he pleaded guilty to setting fire to a home with his ex-girlfriend and her children inside.
Jorge Mora-Vahena, 29, pleaded guilty to second-degree arson and first-degree assault and battery charges on Monday for setting fire to the home in September 2022, according to a report from The State.
According to authorities, fire crews were dispatched to the home of Mora-Vahena’s ex-girlfriend and her two children, where they were sleeping when the house went up in flames. The family was able to make it out of the burning house alive, but a family pet was unable to escape. The home was destroyed in the blaze.
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Jorge Mora-Vahena (8th Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office, South Carolina)
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An investigation by the Newberry Fire Department, Newberry Police Department, and Newberry County Sheriff’s Office determined that the fire had been intentionally set, with phone records eventually placing Mora-Vahena at the scene at the time of the blaze. Mora-Vahena later confessed to authorities that he was behind the blaze.
“It takes a malicious, evil heart to set a home on fire where children are sleeping,” Solicitor David Stumbo said in a press release. “I am pleased that Jorge Mora-Vahena will be behind bars for a long time, and we will continue to stand with our partners in law enforcement to fight this scourge of domestic violence in our communities.”
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Mora-Vahena was initially charged with second-degree domestic violence, unlawfully placing a child at risk of or cause of harm or willfully abandon the child, and two counts of attempted murder, eventually pleading guilty to the second-degree arson and first-degree assault and battery charges.
Mora-Vahena was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the arson charge and five year in prison on the assault charge, the latter of which will be suspended to 30 months. The prison sentences will run concurrently, while Mora-Vahena will receive credit for 142 days of time served.
