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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A Blair County man who set fire in 2022 to an Altoona house that his ex-wife and her family were remodeling entered guilty pleas Friday to arson, burglary and unrelated theft offenses.
Jeremy Lee Causer, 52, who has been in the county prison since being arrested shortly after the Oct. 12, 2022, fire, is expected to be transferred to a state prison where he will finish a sentence of 12 to 24 months' incarceration, followed by eight years' probation.
Judge Wade A. Kagarise, who imposed the sentence, told Causer that upon being transferred to a state prison, he should submit to a diagnostic evaluation to identify his rehabilitation needs.
Because Causer has already spent about 13 months in the county prison, the state will be in a position to determine if he can be released before October 2024 when he is granted release by reaching his maximum incarceration time of 24 months.
"It's not enough for what he did," the ex-wife said after Causer's sentencing hearing concluded. Her husband described the sentence as "paltry."
Both spoke in court before Kagarise handed a sentence based on the state's sentencing guidelines for arson of an uninhabited structure and Causer's lack of a prior record.
"The flip side here is that there's been real damage done to the victims," Kagarise said.
The ex-wife and husband, who were renting their residence in Tyrone, said they devoted six years to acquiring and remodeling the house on the 1500 block of Fifth Street, where they were planning to live. Electricity was to be installed the day after the fire.
"We watched six years of our lives burn down," the ex-wife said.
"It was personal," her husband told Kagarise. "It was an attack against my family that was meant to cause harm to us."
Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Thomas asked Kagarise to sentence Causer to a state prison where he would have more options to address his mental health issues. Thomas also pointed to the associated danger, requiring the Altoona Fire Department, AMED, Altoona police and others to respond.
"Neighbors went to the (burning) house to see if anyone was inside," Thomas said. "His actions put so many people in harm's way."
Chief Public Defender Russ Mongtomery described his client as remorseful, willing to make amends and willing to resume outpatient mental health services available through Veterans Affairs.
"His life fell apart," the defense attorney said. "He went off his meds."
Causer also apologized.
"I'm very, very sorry, and I'm ashamed of myself," he said. "I don't know what came over me. ... I got upset and I acted out."
Causer told Kagarise that he has the ability to get a paying job.
When the judge ordered him to make restitution of about $250,000 in connection with the arson and the unrelated thefts, Causer didn't protest. However, he did speak of leaving Pennsylvania.
"I don't want to trouble them again," Causer said. "I hope someday they can forgive me."
Kagarise told Causer that as part of his probation, he will be required to travel to the state of Washington to resolve an outstanding DUI offense and to Idaho where he has an outstanding criminal trespassing offense.
The judge told Causer that during those travels, he should make plans for his future, including the pursuit of a job or education. Success with that pursuit and the ability to remain free of criminal activity, the judge said, could put Causer in a position to seek early termination of his probation. Failure to comply could land him back in prison.
"This is your chance here," Kagarise said. "Don't blow it."
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.