Gordon Thompson was sentenced today to 11 ½ years imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court for setting fire to the Reeves Furniture Store in Croydon on 8 August, 2011. He also admitted three burglaries for which he was sentenced to serve eight years concurrently.
CPS London Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Jenny Hopkins said:
"Gordon Thompson’s callous actions recklessly endangered the lives of many innocent people, not least the firefighters who bravely extinguished the blaze. Few will forget the terrifying ordeal of Monika Konczykn, whose flat overlooked the store. She had to throw herself from her blazing flat into the arms of those same firefighters after she had become trapped by the flames.
“A much loved and memorable local building was razed to the ground and the efforts of five generations of hard-working members of the Reeves family to build up their family business were destroyed. Members of the public both in Croydon and elsewhere were shocked at the television footage which showed the extent of the damage caused by Thompson’s actions.
"When faced with the strength of the case against him, Thompson pleaded guilty, which meant many witnesses did not have to relive distressing memories about what happened that night.”
