so 5 years for this, no he got off lightly
London riots: 11 years for man who set fire to Croydon shop
Gordon Thompson destroyed a family business, which had stood at that site for over 150 years.
11/04/2012 11:47 AM
JAILED: Gordon Thompson
A MAN who set fire to a south London furniture shop during last summer’s riots, has been sentenced to 11 years in jail.
Gordon Thompson, 33, who pleaded guilty to the arson of The House of Reeves in Croydon also admitted three burglaries for which he was sentenced to serve eight years concurrently.
On August 8, Thompson forced his way into the stores to loot and burgle them. He then deliberately set fire to a sofa in the furniture showroom of House of Reeves destroying a family business, which had stood at that site for over 150 years.
The first of his criminal acts that night was a burglary at Iceland on Surrey Street when he brazenly looted the store. However Thompson was captured on film with the items he had stolen and that photograph appeared on the front page of the local newspaper.
A short time later Thompson was again caught on CCTV entering the House of Fraser store and reemerging five minutes later with armfuls of stolen goods.
CCTV also captured Thompson at Reeves Corner where he ripped a shattered glass pane from its frame and entered the premises. This time he stole a laptop computer and on leaving the store he asked another person for a lighter. As soon as he was given one, he set fire to a sofa inside the shop.
The resulting fire was devastating.
Once House of Reeves was ablaze, glowing embers from the fire set light to the residential property on the other side of the road and residents were forced to flee for their lives.