Donna Ackerson

Almost two years after initially withdrawing her guilty plea to setting a house on fire, an Indiana County woman was sentenced to prison Thursday after again accepting the same plea deal earlier this month.

Butler County Court of Common Pleas Judge William Shaffer sentenced Donna M. Ackerson, 46, to a total of four to nine years in state prison after the Marion Center woman pleaded guilty Feb. 13 to felony counts of risking catastrophe and convict not to possess a firearm. Ackerson also faces criminal charges in Indiana County, according to her lawyer.

Ackerson's case dates back to 2016 when she was charged with stealing several weapons from a home and later setting the house on fire as a ploy to hide the crime.

“She just decided that it was time to get out of Butler County Prison. She was facing substantially more time if she went to trial and she wanted to take the offer that has been on the table for quite some time,” said Michael Jewert, Ackerson's court-appointed attorney. “She just wanted to move on with her life.”

Ackerson has been incarcerated since 2016 and received 1,257 days of credit for time already served.

According to an earlier report, Ackerson withdrew her original plea in September 2017 after asserting her innocence. Over the next few years, her case stalled due to multiple circumstances — including attorney turnover — before she finally accepted the same plea deal.

Assistant District Attorney Patricia McLean prosecuted the case and contends the plea deal reflects the facts.

Ackerson initially faced 36 felony and misdemeanor counts in the case after torching a Winfield Township house located at 423 Keasey Road on May 21, 2016.

Pennsylvania State Police said Ackerson stole several firearms from the home where she had been living for a short time and burned the home to cover up her crime.

No one was injured in the blaze, but the fire badly damaged the house.

The homeowner, who lived across the street, noticed flames and attempted to douse the fire with an extinguisher and garden hose before firefighters arrived and got the blaze under control.

Damage was estimated at $40,000 and mostly contained to the living room, according to authorities. Ackerson must also pay restitution as part of her sentence, though the final amount was unclear.

The resident of the home, Richard Zabicki, had been living there for more than two years, but was out of town at the time. It was later learned Ackerson was also temporarily living at the home for just over two weeks before the blaze.

Police said while the Zabicki was away, Ackerson pried opened a gun safe and stole nine firearms and other accessories valued at $5,550 as well as a large water jug filled with about $40 in coins.

She then took the guns to Fenelton Firearms, which is less than five miles away, and sold five of them and some accessories for $400.