Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Michigan Man Gets 20 to 40 Years for Targeted Bensalem Arson That Killed Two Dogs

Investigators traced his car from Pennsylvania to Michigan using neighbor video with license-plate readers.

Overview

  • Harrison Jones, 22, pleaded no contest to six counts of attempted homicide and two counts of aggravated animal cruelty, and he pleaded guilty to arson and risking catastrophe.
  • Common Pleas Judge Matthew D. Weintraub imposed a 20–40 year state prison term and ordered more than $500,000 in restitution to the Zalenski family.
  • Prosecutors said Jones drove over 700 miles from Rockford, Michigan, to target his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend, Alex Zalenski, before setting the fire around 5 a.m.
  • The blaze destroyed the Bensalem home, trapped six people who escaped by jumping from second-story windows, and killed the family’s dogs, Jett and Trey.
  • Victims described lasting trauma, including Stacy Zalenski jumping from a window while in cancer treatment, Andrew Zalenski’s hospitalization for severe smoke inhalation, and Alex Zalenski withdrawing from college.