KANSAS CITY (AP) — A man has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for setting fire to a Kansas City church last year.
Christopher Durant, 39, of Kansas City, was sentenced Monday to 63 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in April to one count of arson, federal prosecutors for Missouri said in a news release. There is no parole in the federal system.
Durant also was ordered to pay more than $143,000 in restitution to go to the church, insurance company and owner of the building in which the church is housed.
Prosecutors said Durant set fire to Beyond Thee Four Walls Ministries on Aug. 26, 2020, days after he had approached church staff asking for water and was turned away. Surveillance video showed Durant breaking church windows with chunks of asphalt, then placing burning objects inside the church through a mail slot and the broken windows, investigators said.