Atlanta, GA - Former Police Officer Gets 20 Years for Arson

Atlanta, GA - A former Chatham County police officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison without parole on multiple charges of arson.

Christopher Mock, 45, of Atlanta, was found guilty by a federal jury on 14 arson counts. He also was ordered to pay $601,550 in restitution.  
According to the evidence presented during the trial, Mock - who was then a cab driver - set a series of fires, primarily in the stairwells of 2- to 3-story brick apartment buildings in metro Atlanta. Some of the fires forced residents to jump to safety.

"Mock showed a callous disregard for human life when he used gasoline to set fires in the stairwells of several occupied apartment buildings during the early morning hours, when residents were asleep," David E. Nahmias, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said Thursday. "Mock also targeted one apartment building because of his animosity toward Jewish people. Given these aggravating circumstances, the long sentence imposed on Mock today was entirely appropriate."