Flamed out: Jilted lover sentenced after setting cars, apartment ablaze
Published 12:13 am Saturday, July 28, 2018
- U.S. District Judge Lance M. Africk sentenced Ryan Scott to ten years in jail followed by three years of supervised release.
NEW ORLEANS — An area man scorned due to the unrequited love of a LaPlace woman set an apartment complex and numerous vehicles on fire across two cities.
The criminal pyromania led to a stiff jail sentence, as U.S. District Judge Lance M. Africk sentenced Ryan Scott to ten years in jail followed by three years of supervised release.
Ryan Scott
The sentence, handed out Thursday, followed Scott’s guilty plea this spring to federal arson and weapon violations.
According U.S. Attorney Duane Evans, Scott had faced up to 30 years in prison and more than a quarter million dollars in fines following his Sept. 26 arrest by the Kenner Police Department.
A release Thursday from Evans’ office did not indicate if Scott, a 40-year-old Kenner resident, was accessed any fines.
Evans praised the work of the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies for helping bring the case forward.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maria M. Carboni and Myles Ranier prosecuted the case.
According to court documents, Scott’s rage-filled vendetta turned violent in between May and August of 2017, when he reportedly sent his ex-girlfriend the text message:
“I’m going to show you real soon. You will not be in that house long. I’m going to make sure of that b—-. It’s all good I got you sweetie Saturday.”
The Sheriff’s Office was called out at 2:20 a.m. May 21 to 713 Woodland Drive in LaPlace to find Scott’s ex-girlfriend’s car on fire.
Telephone records indicated Scott called his former flame 50 times during that same day.
On Aug. 12, authorities say Scott went back to the residence, this time borrowing his mother’s minivan, and attempted to kick in the back door.
He returned later in the day, police said, setting a fire that required St. John Parish firefighters to respond Aug. 13 and neighbors to fight off the flames.
According to a confession provided by Scott, his anger was not satisfied and he traveled to Kenner on Aug. 13 and set fire to his ex-girlfriend’s step-father’s vehicle, a blaze that spread to an adjacent vehicle.
According to Scott’s statement to police, he set the fires because he believed his ex-girlfriend was cheating on him and using him.
