A man who a witness said was angry about the killing of a black man by police in Missouri pleaded no contest Monday to igniting a huge inferno in downtown Los Angeles that destroyed a block of apartments under construction.
Dawud Abdulwali, 58, was immediately sentenced to 15 years in prison after entering the plea to one count of arson of a structure and acknowledging allegations of using an accelerant and causing millions of dollars in damage.
Deputy District Attorney Joy Roberts said the plea was negotiated.
The December 2014 blaze gutted the seven-story Da Vinci apartment complex, which was in the wood-framing stage of construction, and blew out windows and set off fire sprinklers in adjacent towers.