A homeless man who had to be evacuated out of an abandoned building on the JDC grounds last summer due to a fire was sentenced to local jail time on Wednesday.
41-year old John R. Childers was found guilty of criminal trespass to land in a stipulated bench trial on Wednesday at the Morgan County Courthouse.
According to police reports, Childers was found on the second floor of the Gillespie Building on August 18th by firefighters responding to a fully involved structure fire reported by a pedestrian at approximately 6:45 that morning. The building, which had sealed access doors, posed a problem for firefighters to gain entry to suppress the blaze.
Childers was later cited and released from the Morgan County Jail. Origins of the fire and investigations remain ongoing.
Childers subsequently failed to appear 5 times for court hearings prior to yesterday’s hearing. Judge Chris Reif sentenced Childers to 20 days in the Morgan County Jail, with credit for 10 days served.