Man gets 5 years in prison for attempted arson during Ferguson riots

By Fiona Ortiz Reuters

10 years ago

A police officer holds his weapon as a protester is detained (rear) in Ferguson, Missouri, August 10, 2015. (Rick Wilking/Reuters)

Protesters argue with police officers during another night of demonstrating in Ferguson, Missouri August 11, 2015. A state of emergency that was declared on Monday for the Ferguson area was still in effect on Tuesday. Protesters have been marching and staging acts of civil disobedience over police shootings of unarmed black men. (Reuters/Lucas Jackson)

Police hold a protester who was detained in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 10, 2015. (Rick Wilking/Reuters)

Police detain a protester in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 10, 2015. (Rick Wilking/Reuters)

A policeman rubs his eyes after police attempted to disperse a crowd using what appeared to be teargas after a shooting incident in St. Louis, Missouri August 19, 2015. Police fatally shot a black man they say pointed a gun at them, drawing angry crowds and recalling the racial tensions sparked by the killing of an unarmed African-American teen in nearby Ferguson, Missouri, just over a year ago. (Reuters/Kenny Bahr)

Activists raised a banner in downtown St. Louis on Monday, August 10, 2015, that read "Racism still lives here. #fightback" as part of the Ferguson Commemoration Weekend‘s day of civil disobedience. (St. Louis American/CNN)

Police line up to block the street as protesters gathered after a shooting incident in St. Louis, Missouri August 19, 2015. Police fatally shot a black man they say pointed a gun at them, drawing angry crowds and recalling the racial tensions sparked by the killing of an unarmed African-American teen in nearby Ferguson, Missouri, just over a year ago. (Reuters/Kenny Bahr)

Police arrest a protester that was in the middle of the street after a shooting incident in St. Louis, Missouri August 19, 2015. Police fatally shot a black man they say pointed a gun at them, drawing angry crowds and recalling the racial tensions sparked by the killing of an unarmed African-American teen in nearby Ferguson, Missouri, just over a year ago. (Reuters/Lawrence Bryant)

St Louis County police officers hold an anti-police demonstrator in Ferguson, Missouri, August 10, 2015. Police in riot gear clashed with protesters who had gathered in the streets of Ferguson early on Tuesday to mark the anniversary of the police shooting of an unarmed black teen whose death sparked a national outcry over race relations. (Reuters/Lucas Jackson)

Two anti-police demonstrators walk away from a line of St Louis County police officers during protests in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 11, 2015. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

Police arrest a man as protesters gathered after a shooting incident in St. Louis, Missouri August 19, 2015. Police fatally shot a black man they say pointed a gun at them, drawing angry crowds and recalling the racial tensions sparked by the killing of an unarmed African-American teen in nearby Ferguson, Missouri, just over a year ago. (Reuters/Kenny Bahr)

Members of the community, including family members of the late Michael Brown, join together on August 9, 2015, for a march through Ferguson, Missouri, including a stop at the memorial for Michael Brown. (L. Bryant/St. Louis American/CNN)

A photograph of Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson as submitted as evidence to the St. Louis County Grand Jury. (St. Louis Co. Prosecutor‘s Office/CNN)

Smoke rises as police attempt to disperse protesters on Page Ave. after a shooting incident in St. Louis, Missouri August 19, 2015. Police fatally shot a black man they say pointed a gun at them, drawing angry crowds and recalling the racial tensions sparked by the killing of an unarmed African-American teen in nearby Ferguson, Missouri, just over a year ago. (Reuters/Kenny Bahr)

St Louis County police officers arrest an anti-police demonstrator in Ferguson, Missouri. Aug. 11, 2015. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

A federal judge sentenced a St. Louis County man to five years in prison for trying to burn down a store in Ferguson, Missouri, during riots after a grand jury declined to charge a white officer who had killed an unarmed black 18-year-old.

Antonio Whiteside, 27, who had pleaded guilty in April to one count of attempted arson at the Ferguson Supermarket, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Ross, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in a statement.

Dozens of businesses were damaged or ruined last year during the rioting that broke out after the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb that became the touchstone for a national movement against racial profiling and police use of lethal force.

Whiteside previously admitted to using a lighter and an accelerant to start a fire inside the Ferguson Supermarket on Nov. 24, during the civil unrest that followed the announcement from St. Louis County prosecutors that a grand jury had decided not to indict Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson.

A federal investigation found that Wilson was justified in shooting Brown in a struggle over the officer’s gun.

Whiteside does not have a criminal record except for a minor marijuana charge when he was a college student, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has reported.

The market where Whiteside set the fire was in the hard-hit West Florissant Street area of Ferguson that is still struggling to recover from the unrest. Some businesses have been bulldozed and some shut down. Others have used loans and grants to stay open after the protests but have had trouble drawing shoppers to the area.