PORT ANGELES — A convicted felon who lit a firecracker in a linseed oil can as a prank, creating an explosion that caused no injuries but minor damage, has been sentenced to almost four years in prison.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Lauren Erickson sentenced John Harold Hann, 50, to 46 months Wednesday after a jury convicted him Sept. 19 of first-degree arson.
The jury deliberated two hours before reaching a verdict. Hann did not testify.
Alex Stalker of Clallam Public Defender, representing Hann, filed an appeal to the state Court of Appeals the same day Hann was sentenced.
Hann set off the firecracker at The Tempest, a permanent-supportive facility for the chronically homeless, on June 16, causing the evacuation of building occupants at the former Aggie’s Motel at 112 N. Albert St. in Port Angeles.
Low-end sentence
Hann was sentenced to the low end of the 46- to 51-month standard sentence range for first-degree arson, given the nature of the crime and Hann’s criminal history.
Hann has five felony convictions, including first-degree theft and second-degree burglary, and 38 misdemeanor convictions, Johnson said.
“I think you did make a poor and unsafe decision, but I also agree with Mr. Stalker that given the facts of this case, it justifies the low end of the range,” Erickson told Hann.
The maximum sentence for first-degree arson is life in prison.
Erickson, who imposed 18 months of community custody following the prison term, did not impose a lifetime ban on Hann going to Serenity House of Clallam County.
The nonprofit agency, which provides shelter and other services for homeless individuals, owns The Tempest building, which it closed Sept. 30 after reports of criminal activities and damage being inflicted on the facility.
Hann told authorities he lit a firecracker to celebrate another Tempest resident’s birthday, admitting he placed it in a blue and yellow can he said was “bone dry,” according to the probable cause statement.
Hann did not testify at his trial and did not have anyone testify on his behalf.
“John characterized his actions as a prank and insisted that he was not being malicious,” according to the probably cause statement.
The firecracker went off in a hallway with apartments on either side, catching a wall on fire and causing “minimal damage,” according to Tempest staff, Serenity House Business Manager Sharon Maggard said Thursday.
About 12 tenants and their guests were in the building, she said.
Maggard did not know if anyone was near the firecracker when it went off.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Steven Johnson said Thursday that according to a surveillance video, Hann placed a can of linseed oil covered with hand sanitizer on top of a fire alarm.
Hand sanitizer products commonly contain alcohol, which is flammable.
“He lit the firecracker, put the firecracker in [the can], and walked away,” Johnson said Thursday.
“He didn’t even look back after it exploded.
“He just walked out of the building.”
Hann was charged under the state statute for first-degree arson under which a person is guilty if they cause a fire or explosion that damages a dwelling or cause a fire or explosion in any building where there is a person who is not participating in the crime.
The statute is “insanely broad,” Stalker said at Hann’s sentencing.
“It seems intended to cover serious fire insurance fraud and endangering human life, but that is not the section of the statute Mr. Hann is convicted of,” Stalker said.
The two sections of the law that Hann was found guilty of are “the two least serious ways to commit arson that I think are incredibly broad,” he said.
“Forty-six months for setting of a firecracker that didn’t endanger anyone, it caused minimal property damage, it has no risk of fire, which is why it was placed in a can, that seems really, really excessive,” Stalker said.
Stalker sought the 46 months of confinement that was the lowest end of the sentencing range.
“The only reason this happened is because [Hann] did not think it was as big a deal as the law makes it,” Stalker said.
“I’m pretty sure if he knew beforehand, if someone said, ‘Hey, if you set off that firecracker, you can go to prison from four to five years,’ he would have said, ‘Oh, I’ll figure out another way to celebrate his birthday.’ ”
________
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
