Jail Sentence for Arsonist Outrages Detroit Firefighters

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Dec. 01--In a courtroom packed with angry and frustrated firefighters, a Detroit man was sentenced this morning to 15 years in prison for setting the summer fire that injured seven of their own, including a firefighter who was left paralyzed.

That man, Brendan Milewski, gave an emotional speech in court just before the defendant, Calvin Jones, was sentenced.

From his wheelchair, Milewski looked at the defendant and said, "I would trade places with you in a heartbeat and serve your sentence if it meant that one day I will be able to walk out of prison and enjoy life as I used to."

Jones, 41, a self-employed mechanic, apologized to the firefighters for his actions on Aug. 13, 2010, when he helped torch a cell phone store on East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit.

"I'm truly sorry for all the people who got hurt, especially the firefighters and their families. I have always looked upon them as heroes," Jones said. Still, he insisted that he was forced at gunpoint to take part in the fire and repeatedly argued that he was denied a fair trial because he wasn't allowed to give his version of events in court.

This outraged many firefighters who packed the courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge John Corbett O'Meara in Ann Arbor this morning to show support for their colleagues.

"To have a guy stand there and show no remorse that's the biggest insult," said Dan McNamara, president of the Detroit firefighters union.

McNamara and others felt Jones deserved the 30-year sentence recommended by prosecutors.

The Milewski family was equally frustrated.

"Thirty years wouldn't have been enough," said Sharon Milewski, Brendan's mother.

Brendan Milewski said he wasn't surprised by the 15-year sentence and said, "I still think he made out."

Jones and his codefendant, Samson Wright, were both convicted of gutting the Metro PCS store at the behest of the store owner who was looking to file a bogus insurance claim.

The store owner has never been charged.

According to court records, the store owner cut a deal with Wright who agreed to burn down the store for $15,000, which would come from the insurance payout.

Wright ended up getting $500 for the job, records show. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Nov. 15.

O'Meara had agreed to let Jones assert in court that he was under duress on the day of the fire. But the judge will not let him call any witnesses to bolster his claims.

O'Meara also refused to honor Jones' request that the government pay for a limo to drive his witnesses to Ann Arbor.

Jones had asked the government to pay for a limo service to transport 10 witnesses to Ann Arbor, saying they are poor and have no cars and that the $72-per-hour limo service is the cheapest and most efficient mode of transportation to get them to trial.

The government did not respond to that request but argued that Jones should not be allowed to present a duress defense. In court documents, prosecutors argued that Jones has no evidence to prove that he cooperated in the fire "under fear of death or serious bodily injury."