Sep. 15—EAU CLAIRE — An Eau Claire man will spend five years in prison for setting fire to a business on Eau Claire's south side that was under a notice of eviction.

Cuong V. Nguyen, 49, 3204 Summerfield Drive, was sentenced Wednesday in Eau Claire County Court on a felony count of arson to a building.

Judge Jon Theisen ordered Nguyen to spend 10 years on extended supervision following his release from prison.

As a condition of supervision, Nguyen must pay $48,970 in restitution.

Nguyen will get credit for the 351 days he has spent in the Eau Claire County Jail since his arrest.

Arson "is unacceptable in a civil society," Theisen told Nguyen at his sentencing hearing.

"We're all thankful and lucky nobody got hurt," Theisen said.

Eau Claire County Assistant District Attorney Tiffany Winter said prison is necessary because of the severity of Nguyen's offense and his substantial criminal record that dates back to 1998.

Nguyen's "reaction to a minor disagreement was nothing but extreme," Winter said of the arson.

Nguyen freely admitted his actions shortly after they occurred and he is truly remorseful and upset over the harm he caused to the victims of the arson, defense attorney James Krave said.

"He realizes these actions have shattered his life," Krave said. "He realizes this is a prison case and the defense accepts that."

Nguyen asked Theisen to release him from custody as soon as possible so he could work and pay for the damage he has caused.

"I would like to ask the court and everyone for forgiveness," Nguyen said. "I am truly sorry."

According to the criminal complaint:

Police responded Aug. 21, 2021, to a business building at 3021 Mall Drive for a burglary and arson case. The building houses Happy Nails, Noodle Wrap and a lawn care business.

Building owners showed the officer a broken window on the east side of the building. It appeared a fire was started at the broken window and smoke was still observed inside the building.

The officer was told that the owner of Happy Nails was evicted from the building and was supposed to be out by Aug. 20. 2021.

The owners of the building said they have had continuing issues with the Happy Nails business.

A car belonging to the owner of Happy Nails was parked by the building. It had been damaged by a rock.

The building owners said one Happy Nails employee, Nguyen, was particularly upset that the business was being evicted.

Police found blood on the broken window at Happy Nails. There was fire damage throughout the business. Firefighters said they believed an accelerant was likely used to start the fire.

Nguyen said he was staying at his relative's residence and not at Happy Nails at the time of the burglary and arson.

Surveillance video from the building's owners showed a man, with a shirt pulled up over the top of his head, break a window with a rock. He then dumps accelerant into the window. He reaches through the window to start the fire.

The subsequent explosion from the fire appears to engulf the suspect, who then runs from the window. He can be seen taking off his shirt and rubbing his hair. The video shows the same man breaking the car window before breaking the window on the building.

DNA evidence from the blood left on the broken window was linked to Nguyen.