Baltimore man sentenced to prison for pharmacy fire in riot
(Reuters) - A Baltimore man who pleaded guilty in connection with the torching of a CVS drugstore during April rioting was sentenced to four years in prison on Tuesday, federal prosecutors said.
Raymon Carter, 24, had pleaded guilty to a reduced federal charge of rioting. U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander also sentenced Carter to three years of supervised release after leaving prison and $500,000 in restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Baltimore said in a statement.
A grand jury indicted Carter in July for setting the blaze that gutted a CVS drugstore in west Baltimore. The pharmacy became a focal point for protests and media in the days after the unrest.
Violence broke out on April 27 following the funeral of Freddie Gray, a black man who died from injuries sustained in police custody. Six officers have been charged in his death.
Nearly 400 businesses across Baltimore were damaged or destroyed in the hours following Gray's funeral, authorities have said.
Prosecutors said video surveillance showed Carter lighting a fire inside the pharmacy and running away. He had been indicted for arson as well as aiding and abetting.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Peter Cooney and Tom Brown)
