For setting fire to an unoccupied house, a 25-year-old Butler man will pay an “astronomical” amount of money in restitution long after the jail sentence he received Thursday ends.

Common Pleas Judge William Shaffer sentenced Victor J. Weltner to one year minus a day to two years minus one day in jail for arson, to which he pleaded guilty Dec. 3.

Weltner was arrested and charged July 20 after police were called to a fire at a Butler home. Flames were coming from the house by the time firefighters arrived.

Crews needed an hour to get the fire under control. The blaze also caused heat and smoke damage to the outside of a neighboring house.

No one was injured.

Weltner is responsible for nearly $130,000 in restitution for the damages, an amount that Shaffer observed to be “astronomical.”

Weltner's lawyer, Joseph Smith, agreed and after the sentence he noted that Weltner will chip away at the restitution for a very long time.

At the time of Weltner's arrest, he gave police three stories about what occurred, according to investigators. First, he claimed he was walking by and discovered the fire before finally telling police that he was walking home after drinking late into the night and he “had to go to the bathroom,” according to charging documents.

He settled on a final account in which he was inside the house and “screwing around with his lighter,” documents said, when he caught the kitchen curtains on fire.

Along with the jail sentence, Weltner will be on probation for four years. He received 87 days credit for time already served.

In a second case, Weltner was sentenced to one year minus a day to two years minus a day in jail for burglary. After the jail sentence, Weltner will be on probation for four years. He received 87 days in credit for time already served. Weltner was charged Oct. 5, 2015, and pleaded guilty on Dec. 3.