Sellers

BEDFORD — A Lewistown man who admitted to setting fire to a Napier Township home was sentenced Friday morning to serve two to five years in state prison, followed by five years of probation.

Sitting before the victim and her family in the Bedford County Courthouse, Zachery Sellers, 36, said he “would like to say I’m sorry” about the incident that transpired after he was contracted by Heather Dibert, 45, to burn down the home where Dibert’s estranged wife and family were living. The home sustained minimal damage during the October 2023 fire.

“I wish I could go back,” he said of his actions at the time.

Sellers pleaded guilty in October to one felony count of risking a catastrophe in exchange for eligibility in a state drug treatment program, with the remaining charges dismissed.

Prior to the deal, Sellers was facing more than 30 charges, including criminal attempt – criminal homicide, aggravated arson, arson and criminal attempt – aggravated assault.

During Friday’s court action, a victim of the fire gave Sellers advice during her witness statement.

After telling Sellers to avoid hard situations and people that will lead him down the wrong path, she said that Sellers should stop filling the hole in his heart with drugs, but instead, with God.

He probably believes his previous actions disqualify him from receiving God’s grace, she said, “but that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Moving forward, she hopes Sellers “takes advantage” of the drug program and can recover from past mistakes “to salvage his life and save his story.”

Bedford County Assistant District Attorney Megan Will said Sellers’ sentence is an “appropriate restitution to turn his life around.”

Sellers has been incarcerated since 2023 and Defense Attorney Dan Kiss said Sellers is fully clean from his prior drug addiction and will make “better choices through drug treatment.”

“He’s not sophisticated, and that makes him sincere,” Kiss told President Judge Travis W. Livengood, who presided over the sentencing.

Speaking after the court appearance, Kiss said the sentence was an “appropriate outcome, given the level of cooperation that (Sellers) gave to the commonwealth.”

In September, a Bedford County jury found Dibert guilty of plotting to burn down the home occupied by her estranged wife and family. Dibert is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 12.

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.