Man sentenced for tossing Molotov cocktails into home

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Southern California man who tossed a pair of Molotov cocktails into a home with three children inside over grudge with one of their parents was sentenced Monday to five years in prison, federal prosecutors said.

Sylvester Andrews Jr. was convicted of charges including possession of an unregistered destructive device, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

Police and firefighters responded May 20, 2018 to reports of a vehicle on fire outside a home in National City. They found that someone had doused beach towels with a liquid — possibly gasoline — placed them on the vehicle and set them on fire, the statement said.

Police also determined someone had tossed two Molotov cocktails containing gasoline through a window into the home. Neither device fully ignited.

An investigation led by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents found that Andrews had an unspecified dispute with an adult who lived at the home in San Diego County.

Andrews, 39, was linked to the crimes with surveillance camera footage, text messages and DNA evidence from the scene, authorities said.

“This defendant’s actions put three children at great risk because of a grown-up grudge, and the price for that is prison,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “This is a fitting sentence for an offender who used an explosive device to settle a score.”