{"id":26440,"date":"2016-09-06T15:21:20","date_gmt":"2016-09-06T22:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=26440"},"modified":"2016-09-06T15:21:20","modified_gmt":"2016-09-06T22:21:20","slug":"man-who-set-somali-restaurant-on-fire-sentenced-to-15-years-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=26440","title":{"rendered":"Man Who Set Somali Restaurant on Fire Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>NORTH DAKOTA<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">A federal judge Tuesday sentenced <strong>Matthew Gust<\/strong>, 26, \u00a0to 15 years in prison for setting fire to a Somali restaurant in Grand Forks, North Dakota, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14523 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Courtroom-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"Courtroom\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" \/>Gust admitted that the fire was set to intimidate and interfere with the Somali employees and customers of the Juba Cafe, officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">\u201cThis sentence sends a clear message to those who attempt to divide our community by sowing violence and fear,\u201d said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta.\u00a0 \u201cThe Department of Justice will continue to vigorously prosecute perpetrators of hate violence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Early that morning, he drove to a gas station and purchased a small amount of gasoline, which he used to fill a 40-ounce beer bottle, turning it into a Molotov cocktail.\u00a0 Gust then drove to the caf\u00e9, donned a face mask, punched a hole through the front window of the caf\u00e9, lit the Molotov cocktail, threw it through the window and fled, according to authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The Molotov cocktail exploded on impact, creating an explosion and fire that engulfed Juba Caf\u00e9 and caused more than $250,000 in damages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Gust pleaded guilty on May 19 to an arson charge and a hate-crime charge.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">He was charged with those two counts on March 20.\u00a0 He had earlier been indicted by a grand jury for using a destructive device in the commission of a crime; that charge was dismissed as part of his plea agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">In a motion filed May, Gust&#8217;s attorney, Theodore Sandberg, asked that Gust either be released into a residential treatment facility in Grand Forks or Fargo or into his parents&#8217; custody at their home in East Grand Forks until his sentencing August 29, according to<strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wdaz.com\/news\/crime\/4040416-man-who-set-fire-somali-restaurant-asks-be-released-until-august-sentencing\">WDAZ 8 ABC TV in Grand Forks.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;(Gust) is seeking a chance to prove himself to the court,&#8221; Sandberg wrote in the motion. &#8220;He also wants to get away from the jail. (Gust) is not seeking a free ride.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Gust is willing to accept special conditions &#8212; drug testing, travel restrictions and a curfew &#8212; so he can be employed, Sandberg said, according to the WDAZ 8 Report.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A federal judge Tuesday sentenced Matthew Gust, 26,  to 15 years in prison for setting fire to a Somali restaurant in Grand Forks, North Dakota, according to officials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,3],"tags":[2985,37,2984],"class_list":["post-26440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-main-slider","category-u-s-department-of-justice","tag-fire","tag-hate-crime","tag-somali-restaurant"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Feds: Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Setting Restaurant on Fire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Grand Forks, North Dakota man was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison Tuesday for setting a Somali restaurant on fire. 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