Man Sentenced To 6 1/2 Years For Starting OC Church Fire
IRVINE (CBS) — A 32-year-old man was sentenced Friday to nearly six and a half years in prison for attempting to set anIrvinechurch on fire because he disagreed with its teachings on masturbation.
Izad Chavoshan, of Huntington Beach, pleaded guilty August 9 to three counts of arson and one count of attempted arson – all felonies – with a hate crime sentencing enhancement.
He has a prior strike conviction for criminal threats dating back to 1998.
On three nights between Oct. 15 and Oct. 19, 2009, Chavoshan drove to the Orange County Church of Christ -- his former place of worship -- moved trash cans to the front of the church and set the contents on fire in unsuccessful attempts to set the building ablaze.
On Oct. 21 of that year, he tried to set the church on fire again and was arrested byIrvinepolice officers who had been monitoring the scene due to the previous arson attempts.
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