Winton Hills grocery store firebomber sentenced to prison
Donald Donatelli pleaded guilty in federal court in Cincinnati to the attack in October of last year. According to court documents, he has never said why he did it.
Prosecutors said Donatelli "cased" the Tree Top Grocery on Gwinnett Road on Nov. 26, 2023, entered the store and walked around. Then, about four hours later, he returned, lit a rag hanging out of a bottle filled with gasoline, and smashed in the entryway of the store.
The owners scrambled to put out the fire with water bottles they sell in their store, according to court documents. No was injured, but fire investigators determined the blaze caused $330,000 in damage.
The incident was filmed on Snapchat by his co-defendant Angela Schweitzer. Schweitzer pleaded guilty to related charges in January. She has not yet been sentenced.
Prosecutors said Donatelli tried to get Schweitzer to delete the video and attempted to create an alibi for himself. It was an anonymous tip that led investigators to Donatelli who was arrested in Clermont County following the fire on charges of theft and receiving stolen property.
"While there is no excuse for such acts, the defendant has never offered an explanation for his firebomb attack," prosecutors wrote in court documents. "The victims have repeatedly asked why they were targeted for such brutality."
Prosecutors said Donatelli has shown no remorse for the attack. U.S District Court Judge Matthew W. McFarland ordered that Donatelli's sentence begin the completion his sentence for the offenses in Clermont County.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Man convicted in Winton Hills grocery firebombing sentenced to prison
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Miami Herald
City commissioner in Florida asked 12-year-old Illinois girl for nudes, cops say
An elected official in Florida is facing two dozen felony charges after a mom in Illinois reported he had been sexting her 12-year-old daughter over Snapchat, authorities said. St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro Jr. announced July 24 that law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on Fort Pierce City Commissioner James Taylor, 38, and took him into custody. His arrest marks the culmination of a nearly yearlong investigation that began in August 2024 when the victim's mom filed a report with the Evanston Police Department, the sheriff said in a news conference. The mom of the now-13-year-old girl said a man had been inappropriately contacting her daughter over Snapchat beginning when she was 12, according to investigators. He sent her nude images of himself and asked her to do the same, Del Toro said. This went on for a couple months, investigators said. Detectives in Illinois traced the messages to a person in St. Lucie County and contacted the sheriff's office, which confirmed the suspect's IP address belonged to Taylor, the sheriff said. Investigators don't believe Taylor and the girl ever met in person. Taylor was pulled over during a traffic stop involving a 'ruse,' and was cooperating with detectives, according to the sheriff. 'I would say that he admitted his role in these and was very remorseful, obviously, I think mainly because he was caught,' Del Toro said. Taylor was elected Fort Pierce's District 2 commissioner in 2024 after serving on the county's planning and zoning commission for nearly a decade, according to his commissioner biography. He's involved in several local organizations, including the county's education board and theater advisory board. 'The City of Fort Pierce is aware of the recent arrest of Commissioner James Taylor,' a spokesperson for the city told McClatchy News in an email. 'We understand that this development may raise concerns within our community, and we want to reassure our residents that we remain committed to serving the public with integrity, transparency and accountability.' The 24 charges against Taylor include: transmission of materials harmful to minors by electronic equipmenttransfer or display of obscenity to a minorharmful communication to a minorlewd computer solicitationlewd computer solicitation of a child solicitation of transmission of child pornography by electronic device or equipment. Law enforcement officers are investigating whether there could be additional victims and ask anyone with information to come forward. Fort Pierce is about a 65-mile drive north from West Palm Beach.
UPI
4 days ago
- UPI
Arizona woman imprisoned for $17M North Korean remote workers scheme
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced an Arizona woman to 102 months in prison for operating a laptop farm that helped North Korean operatives fraudulently get remote work at U.S. companies. File Photo (2018) by Andrew Wong/UPI | License Photo July 24 (UPI) -- Arizona resident Christina Chapman must serve 102 months in prison for her role in a $17 million scheme to help North Koreans obtain remote positions with U.S. tech firms. U.S District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Randolph Moss on Thursday sentenced Chapman, 50, after she entered a guilty plea in February to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments on behalf of the government of North Korea. Chapman participated in a "fraudulent scheme that assisted North Korean workers -- posing as U.S. citizens and residents -- in obtaining and working in remote [Internet technology] positions at more than 300 U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti announced in a news release. "North Korea is not just a threat to the homeland from afar," Pirro said. "It is perpetrating fraud on American citizens, American companies and American banks." She said it's important for U.S. corporations and businesses to verify the identities of remote workers to thwart such fraud. "If this happened to these big banks, to these Fortune 500, brand-name, quintessential American companies, it can or is happening to your company," Pirro added. In addition to the prison term, Moss also ordered Chapman to forfeit $284,555.92 that was intended for North Koreans and to pay a $176,850 fine. She also must serve three years of supervised release after completing her prison term. Chapman was part of what the Justice Department says is one of the largest North Korean IT worker fraud schemes. It involved the theft of identities from 68 U.S. citizens and residents and affected 309 U.S. businesses and two international businesses. Chapman is a U.S. citizen and participated in the scheme from October 2020 to October 2023 by using stolen and purchased identities of U.S. nationals to help North Korean operatives to obtain remote work as U.S. firms, including many Fortune 500 companies. The DOJ says Chapman operated a "laptop farm" at her home, where she received and operated at least 90 laptops to fool U.S. employers into thinking the North Korean operatives were located in the United States. She also shipped 49 laptops and other devices that U.S. employers provided and that she shipped overseas. Chapman sent several to a city in China that is located along the border with North Korea. The companies affected include a top-five television network, a Silicon Valley tech company, an aerospace manufacturer, a U.S. carmaker, a luxury retail store and a U.S. media and entertainment company. The North Korean operatives also tried to gain remote employment with two U.S. government agencies. Court documents indicate North Korea has deployed thousands of highly skilled IT workers around the world to use false, stolen or borrowed identities of people in the United States and elsewhere to obtain remote positions. The scheme relies on the assistance of U.S. citizens and legal residents when tried in the United States and enables North Korea to defraud respective employers of millions of dollars, the DOJ says. The illicit funds often are used to help fund North Korea's nuclear weapons program. The Department of State in July sanctioned North Korean hacker Song Kum Hyok for similar alleged criminal activities The DOJ in August also accused Matthew Isaac Knoot, 39, of Nashville, of allegedly operating a laptop farm to benefit North Korea's nuclear arms program.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
All the key Jay Slater evidence from final inquest session as coroner's investigation comes to a close
The inquest into Jay Slater's disappearance was resumed today after being on hold for two months - but two key witnesses still failed to show on the final day of the investigation. When the inquest started on May 21, 2025 it was dramatically halted after Jay's mum Debbie asked for extra attempts to be made to locate witnesses who had failed to respond to a request to give evidence. After just over 12 months, Jay Slater's family now have answers about how the 19-year-old died and the circumstances leading up to his disappearance, Lancs Live reports. READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing star's 'itching' update as they tease 'new season' of BBC show READ MORE: Coronation Street fans fume over Kit Green update as they 'rumble' Lisa Swain discovery It comes after the apprentice bricklayer from Lancashire went missing on June 17, 2024 in Tenerife after leaving a party in Playa de las Americas and heading north to a remote Airbnb in Masca, before attempting to return on foot. Sign up to the MEN Court newsletter here The inquest resumed today with evidence being heard from Brad Geoghegan and Lucy Law - the two friends who were with Jay in Tenerife when he disappeared. A third friend Brandon Hodgson did not make contact with the coroner's service, and Steven 'Rocky' Roccas - one of the two men who rented the Airbnb where Jay was last seen - could also not be found. The entirety of the evidence has now been heard with the coroner, Dr James Adeley, due to give his summing-up and conclusion on Friday morning. During proceedings the court heard from Brad Geoghegan, who described how he and Jay "might have took it a bit too far" with the drink and drugs as their trip to Tenerife last summer was their 'first boys' holiday". Although Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, had been drunk, on the night of Sunday, June 16 - the last night of the NRG music festival - he was still coherent and not "in a state", Brad said. This was corroborated by Ayub Qassim, the other man who had rented the Airbnb where Jay was last seen. Ayub, who gave his evidence via video link from a foreign country, said that Jay was "on a buzz" but could still stand up and talk. Jay had asked Ayub and Rocky if he could go back to their Airbnb, the inquest heard. Ayub warned Jay it was "far away" but promised to drop him back off in town the following morning. A picture of Jay, taken by Ayub after they parked up at the Airbnb in Masca, showed him smiling. Ayub left Jay with a blanket, a towel and a "deck of fags" and then went upstairs to bed. Join our Court and Crime WhatsApp group HERE He was later woken by a neighbour ringing the doorbell to get Ayub to move his car which had blocked in their van. Jay then told Ayub he was going to catch a bus back to town. Ayub told Jay "it's not the kind of place where there's a bus every 10 minutes" but Jay insisted on setting off. Ayub repeatedly insisted that Jay "didn't steal no watch", referencing a Snapchat message Jay had sent to a friends in which he claimed to have stolen a Rolex or an Audemars Piguet watch. Ayub suggested this could have been a case of Jay exaggerating or trying to show off to his mates. Jay's other childhood friend, Lucy Law who he had met at secondary school, was seen as the "sensible" member of the group. When Jay called her on the morning of Monday June 17, and said he was walking home but needed a drink, she urged him to "go back" to the Airbnb "before it gets boiling". Jay's mobile phone battery then died, at around 8.43am, and he was reported missing shortly afterwards at 9am. His body was found in a ravine, on July 15, by a mountain rescue team who said Jay's bag had been found around 20 metres higher up - suggesting that was where he fell from. The inquest will continue from 10am on Friday, July 25 when the coroner will sum up the case and then deliver his conclusion.
