'I was burnt everywhere': Man sentenced to prison for lighting sleeping victim on fire in Pontiac
PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - A man who claimed that he lit a victim on fire in Pontiac as a prank learned his prison sentence Wednesday.
Joseph Green received a 3 ½ to 20-year prison sentence after pleading no contest to charges stemming from the incident that badly burned Adrian Trimble, and left him hospitalized for around a month.
Joseph Green
The backstory:
Trimble was at a home in Pontiac in February when he fell asleep. He spoke about the morning he was lit on fire during Green's sentencing, saying that he thought he had gone over to a friend's home.
According to Trimble's victim impact statement, Green was lighting pieces of paper towel on fire and throwing them on him. Trimble said he initially brushed these burning pieces of paper off himself before waking up in flames.
"The next time I woke up, I had an inferno on my back, basically," he said.
Trimble said the assault, which was live-streamed on Facebook, was so painful that he could not shower for months.
"I was burnt everywhere," he said, adding that he ran outside naked in the cold seeking help.
Judge rips suspect:
Oakland County Circuit Judge Nanci Grant ripped Green's actions before sentencing him to prison.
After his attorney said that her client was remorseful about what happened, Grant asked how Green helped Trimble after he woke up on fire to show how sorry he was. Green did not help.
When given a chance to speak, Green said what happened was "just a prank gone wrong." When Grant asked him what exactly the prank was, he told her lighting tissue on fire and setting it on Trimble was the prank. The judge responded by telling him that a Whoopee Cushion is a prank - not lighting someone on fire.
"I'm not calling you stupid, but that’s a really stupid action," Grant told Green.
The Source: FOX 2 attended Green's sentencing. Previous reporting was also used.