Gordon Thompson, the arsonist behind the fire at the Reeves store in Croydon during the London riots, has been sentenced to 11 and a half years in prison.
The blaze at 140 year old House of Reeves in Croydon, south London, last August was so fierce it spread to buildings on the other side of the road and tram lines in the street caught fire.
Gordon Thompson, 34, admitted arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered, on February 24 - a few days into his trial.
He was given 11 and a half years for the arson, two years each for two counts of burglary, and three years for a third count of burglary, to run concurrently.
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In a statement outside court the shop's owner Trevor Reeves said its destruction was like "a bereavement."
"The total destruction of the site has been a bereavement to me, I just can't understand what I have done to make someone do this to me."
Judge Peter Thornton told Thompson: "This day was a bad day for Croydon and the people of Croydon.
"Perhaps the most shocking event was that the House of Reeves was set alight and burned to the ground, putting lives at risk."
He said the shop "had stood on the site for over 140 years, proudly giving its name to its location, Reeves Corner. You were about to bring all that to an end".
"This was a deliberate, wilful act of shocking, dangerous vandalism."
Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow told jurors: "Such was the ferocity of the blaze that embers and heat from the flames set fire to property on the other side of the road and numerous residents were forced to flee their homes for their lives.
"Indeed one young woman became trapped inside her flat and was forced to jump from a first-floor window into the arms of rescuers waiting below."
A photographer captured a dramatic image of Monika Konczyk as she hurled herself from the building to escape the fire.
Thompson, of Waddon Road, Croydon, "ran riot through the streets" wearing a bright red hooded top that day, and was captured on CCTV and filmed on mobile phones attacking the shop.
After Thompson pleaded guilty to arson, Maurice Reeves, from the family that owned the shop, said the blaze was so traumatic that parts of him had "died".
He went on: "The building's been there all my life. I worked in there every day and when I go into work now the building's not there.
"It's with tears in my eyes when I think about it."
The House of Reeves furniture shop was razed to the ground.
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Gordon Thompson, the arsonist behind the fire at the Reeves store in Croydon during the London riots, has been sentenced to 11 and a half years in prison.
The blaze at 140 year old House of Reeves...
Gordon Thompson, the arsonist behind the fire at the Reeves store in Croydon during the London riots, has been sentenced to 11 and a half years in prison.
The blaze at 140 year old House of Reeves...
It is irrelevant what or who prompted the riots. It is irrelevant what colour of skin, race or creed the rioters were. . Being poor, upset, of ethnic minority race, feeling marginalised et al are all pitiful excuses for mindless thuggery and rampaging violence. We all have choices we can make in life regardless of these factors. Some of us choose the lawful path, the path where we care for others, where we do not loot and burn and pillage. This man committed a heinous crime. In my opinion he should be made to serve a minimum of 15 years in jail before even being considered for parole.He is a persistent offender whose crimes steadily escalated as he became bolder and bolder. Enough is enough, let him ponder on his evil crimes as he spends those years of long lonely nights in prison where he belongs.
majdf18148: It is irrelevant what or who prompted the riots. It
woman jumps for her life from a burning building on another night of violence in London.
The terrified resident had to leap from a first floor window to escape the flames after a massive blaze at Reeves furniture store in Croydon spread to nearby properties. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/london-riots-terrified-woman-jumps-184577
He should have been charged with endangering life too!!
English_NOT_British: This thug almost caused the death of a woman woman
The colour of this mans skin makes no difference - he is a thug and persistently offends. I'm sick of hearing exuses for his type, be they Black, White, or Orange.
English_NOT_British: The colour of this mans skin makes no difference -
Not long enough that building was 140 years old and it was known as reeves corner this thug male set fire to a building not knowing if there was any one in the building , it was not just a furniture store it was part of Croydons history , I don't live or work in Croydon but what this thug did was out to destroy and thieve , As it was low sentence lets hope he wont be out in 6 years , he will be hated by law abiding people and made a hero of by the thugs who are his friends . There was nothing left of this building it was burned to the ground, he had no thought that there may have been a person or persons in that store luckily there was no one in there , he set fire to a settee and most filled furniture can give off toxic fumes , even if the fire did not spread this alone could have taken a life apart from humans was there any animals in the building and what about the buildings near by ?
what about the fire fighters who battled to save the store , no amount of money can replace this store , 11 and half years is not long enough for this thieving arsonist thug.
lillian12130: Not long enough that building was 140 years old and
It would be nice if he appealed against the sentence and received a doubling instead of the usual reduction - appeals are just money-spinners for lawyers and something needs to be done about them as well as the convicted.
lipgate5: It would be nice if he appealed against the sentence
the goverments inquiry into the riots have come up with the most pathetic excuses for the rioting i have ever heard. Many other areas of the uk are facing hardship due to the recession but these people did not come out on the streets and burn and loot their local area
1959greenarrow: the goverments inquiry into the riots have come up with
I have been listening to the great and the good all day on the radio and in the media in general.But no one has answered the question of why these riots kicked off and these people looted shops. The government complained they were an underclass just intent on something for nothing. I heard a number of people today saying these people should know the difference between right and wrong. But unfortuneatley when they look at our top people MPs in particular they see these people who should know better stealing money from the puplic purse and almost all of them got away with it. What does this tell the people down the bottem of the ladder this guy got 11.5 years and derservedly so but what about these thieving MPs a lot of whom are still in parliament it just proves that there really is one rule for them and one for the rest of us. No good will come from this.
jacksons6: I have been listening to the great and the good
I think any MPs who recklessly endanger life by committing arson, commit burglary, loot and riot should get 11.5 yrs but not necessarily for fiddling their expenses.
pete_cole: I think any MPs who recklessly endanger life by committing
the government as usual are wrong, a millionaires daughter was sentence a few days ago for driving looters around in her car, all this was done for their fun whether rich or poor . It started because a male was shot dead by police in Tottenham and it began with a protest . It took one social network message via blackberry to start this in other parts of London and other parts of the country , and a lot of thugs hit their own communities . i would like to know just how many spoilt brats from well off families turned out to get their kicks (fun) have been arrested, they would think it would be fun because the richer areas are highly security defended , how many shops were hit in Knightsbridge for example ? Non so it was fun for rich brats too.If it had been Harrods burnt to the ground then I would imagine the sentence would have been years longer
lillian12130: the government as usual are wrong, a millionaires daughter was
So with the pressure on the prison system, overgenerous remission and caring liberals sitting on parole boards, he is expected to only serve half his sentence. Arson, in his case also endangering life, carries a maximum of a life sentence. It is a pity that the judge didn't feel able to take remission and parole into account and give him 22 years!
And I notice that he also suffers from the "if only" syndrome. This was common when I was a serving Prison Officer, you know the one - "if only I hadn't had a row with the Mrs, if only the others hadn't started rioting, if only I hadn't had a petrol bomb, if only I hadn't lit it etc etc etc.
This isn't remorse - it is self pity. It seems he is an habitual criminal and serial offender - m advice to him is the old one - "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime."
hmpdjb: So with the pressure on the prison system, overgenerous remission
Totally agree with what you have written . I dont understand how anybody could set fire to a shop and not have the forward thinking or insight that they may get caught for it and spend time in prison . Its like i will set fire to the place and there will be no tomorrow . Over £3 million in damage and now the cost to the prison system is over £44000 per year to keep this guy off the streets last time it was mentioned .
I-dont-care: Totally agree with what you have written . I dont
the 11 years isn't enough and it won't help the family who are now thousand's of pounds out of pocket,if i was the owners i'd be putting a contract on his head on the day of his release
hardyphsh: the 11 years isn't enough and it won't help the
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PA/The Huffington Post UK | Posted: 11/04/2012 11:23 Updated: 11/04/2012 17:00