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After his release, Hashemi will be on probation for five years and must adhere to a mental health treatment plan, reporting to the court and a probation officer.
A man pleaded guilty in Baltimore Circuit Court to setting a fire outside the Jewish Museum of Maryland last year, the Baltimore Banner reported on Wednesday.
“I was out of my mind because I was under the influence of cocaine,” Assadollah Hashemi, 66, admitted. “I wasn’t thinking. I accept everything.”
Besides drug abuse, Hashemi also said he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Hashemi was sentenced to 15 years in prison but will only serve the time he has already spent in custody, according to the Baltimore Banner report.
After his release, he will be on probation for five years and must adhere to a mental health treatment plan, reporting to the court and a probation officer.
Accused of hate crime
In August, CBS News reported that Hashemi was arrested just days after he started the fire earlier in the week.Hashemi was accused of a hate crime and taken into custody on charges of second-degree arson and malicious burning.
Baltimore police reported that Hashemi has a history of similar offenses, including an incident in July where he was seen experiencing a behavioral crisis before setting a trash can on fire, CBS News reported.
Additionally, Assistant State’s Attorney Tracy Varda said that less than half an hour before he set the fire, Hashemi sent a text message that read, “If you don’t get back to me, I’m going to have all Jews burned in the furnace.”
Hashemi initially denied the claim, saying, “I have an objection to that — I never said that or wrote it anywhere. That’s a lie.”
