Source:
Knight RidderA remorseful disabled Iraq war veteran from Fayette County, Pa., has entered into a plea bargain that calls for him to serve up to four years in prison on charges he set fire to a trailer occupied by two women and his 3-year-old nephew.
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Ross, who was blinded and lost his left leg while serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq in 2003, walked to a trailer located near his home and set it on fire in February 2007 because he was upset with one of the occupants, according to police. He attacked a firefighter who responded and later threatened state troopers with his prosthetic leg.
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During a February sentencing hearing on the probation violations, Ross told Judge John F. Wagner Jr. he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and realized he was "spiraling out of control" in the days before the arson. He said he sought help at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Coatesville, but the facility did not have a bed available until Feb. 22, 2007 -- or just nine days after he is accused of setting the fire.
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Ross testified he locked himself in his house for nearly 420 days, allowing no visitors, "because the side effects of the nightmares and the different things that was bothering me, I tried to separate myself."
Regardless, Ross acknowledged he had "no excuse" for his actions, noting he purposely shut himself off from VA programs because he wanted to block out his memories of the war.
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http://www.military.com/news/article/vet-seeks-plea-deal-in-trailer-burning.html?col=1186032310810
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