Arsonist Who Set Fire at Hollywood Synagogue Gets 10 Years in Prison

By City News Service

A 23-year-old man who admitted setting fires at a Hollywood synagogue and a residential construction site near Beverly Hills during a four-day crime spree was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 10 years in prison.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta said there was no question that Dmitriy Sheyko suffers from a mental illness -- schizophrenia -- but said his crimes were "not accidental."

The defendant pleaded guilty to 22 counts, including arson, burglary and use of a destructive device. Sheyko -- who entered a separate plea of not guilty by reason of insanity -- waived his right to a jury trial on whether he was sane or insane at the time of the April 2011 crimes, with the case going before Ohta, who ruled March 20 that Sheyko was sane when he committed the crimes.

"... The defendant went on a crime spree," the judge said before imposing the sentence, noting that he was "not unsympathetic" to Sheyko's mental illness and that he had spent a lot of time thinking about the case.

Sheyko will be ordered to register for the rest of his life as an arson offender, the judge said.

Deputy District Attorney Sean Carney called for a "significant sentence," telling the judge that Sheyko told psychiatrists who examined him that he has a "fascination" with fire.

Defense attorney Deborah Horowitz countered that his client had no prior criminal record and that the acts occurred because Sheyko suffered a psychotic break.

She said that he planned to live with his parents in the Sacramento area if released, and that a mental health treatment plan was in place for him there.

"To suggest that he can receive adequate treatment in state prison I think is optimistic," Sheyko's lawyer said.

Over a four-day period, Sheyko burglarized a Fresh & Easy market; broke into a classroom and set fire to a drum at Temple Israel Hollywood; broke into a home; and set fires at two homes under construction on Beverly Ridge Terrace. He also set fire to a construction manager's truck, destroying the vehicle, according to the prosecutor.

Sheyko was arrested April 18, 2011, and has remained jailed since then.With credit for the time he has already served in custody, Sheyko has about four years left on his term and will serve half of that.

Once Sheyko completes his sentence, authorities could determine if he should be classified as a mentally disordered offender and sent to a state mental hospital, according to Carney.