GALESBURG, Ill. (AP) — A former volunteer Williamsfield firefighter who was convicted of several counts of arson earlier this year has been sentenced to jail time and probation.
Blake Walsh, 24, received a sentence Wednesday of six months in jail, which he has already served, and 30 months of probation. He was arrested on April 16 in connection with 19 suspicious fires in Knox County since last October.
Prosecutors say Walsh started at least a few of the fires before calling 911 and responding as a member of the Williamsfield Fire Department. Walsh eventually confessed to setting eight fires, saying he was driven by the “rush.”
“He is trained to protect the public from fires,” Assistant State’s Attorney Elisa Tanner said, “but what he was doing was setting the very fires he was supposed to protect the public from.”
Walsh, who is now out of jail, was also ordered to pay court fines and restitution.
