Charles City man receives three-and-a-half year sentence on attempted arson conviction

A Charles City man who poured gasoline down the hallway of the home he was living in will spend the next three-and-a-half years in prison.

Steven Ray Smith, 37, of the 5000 block of Monguy Road, learned his fate during Nov. 18 morning proceedings in Charles City Circuit Court after being convicted during a Sept. 16 contested trial on one count each of attempted arson and misdemeanor destruction of property.

During the contested trial, on the morning of May 31 county deputies responded to Smith’s residence after his wife called authorities to report the incident. Prosecuting attorney Rob Tyler presented evidence linking Smith to his intended actions. Smith’s defense that he decided not to set the home ablaze after having second thoughts about living didn’t sway Judge B. Elliott Bondurant’s decision to convict him. At that trial, Bondurant ruled by saying that the defendant “had done everything up to that point but drop a match.”

Smith received a ten-year sentence with seven years suspended on the attempted arson conviction (three years to serve). He will also serve six months of a 12-month sentence imposed for the misdemeanor destruction of property charge and must pay $1,117.04 in restitution.

In an unrelated case, a North Chesterfield man will serve a month in jail and be placed on probation for 10 years after he violated the first offender program.

Sayvon Alexander Knight, 21, of the 1200 block of Peck Road, returned to court after a probation violation triggered because he did not complete a first-offender program as part of his original plea agreement in February.

On Sept. 26, 2015, Knight was attending a social event in the county when a deputy spotted him drinking a beer. When the officer approached to inquire about his age to make sure he was legal, the defendant took off before being later apprehended. A subsequent search and pat-down by the deputy resulted in cocaine being located on the defendant and Knight was placed into custody.

The defendant’s sentencing proceeded, as Knight received a five-year sentence with all time suspended on the possession of cocaine charge and was placed on probation for 10 years. All 12 months on the resisting arrest charge were also suspended. However, because the defendant failed to complete the first offender program, it triggered a probation violation and he was sentenced to one month of active time in jail.