Man Sentenced for Burning Mom's House

0:00On March 30th, a 56-year-old man from West Belfast just got hit with a 32-month sentence for torching his own mother's house. Gerard Crawford appeared via video link from prison, and the judge split it even, 16 months locked up, 16 on license. This went down at Belfast Crown Court earlier today. Back on November 7th, just after 11am, flames shot up at a terrace spot on Cavendish Street. His mom owned the place, but she'd been stuck in hospital for a while. Fire crews showed up to a raging blaze that jumped to the next door neighbor's home. Crawford was right there outside, straight up telling cops, yeah, I did it with matches on the curtains. He even confessed to a neighbor, caught on their doorbell cam. No one got hurt, but the damage to that neighbor's spot clocked in at just over 11,000 pounds. The judge weighed his side. He'd been caring for his mom's solo, dealing with mental health struggles, depression, hearing voices that pushed him. Over the itch. Clean record, too, and he's gutted about the messy cause folks around him.

1:04Rapping this up, the judge called it a serious move on a busy street, but stress getting help now. She told him to keep working with pros on release, so he stays straight and doesn't slip again. Heavy lesson and vulnerability hitting hard. That wraps Europe news today, brought to you with AI.