PHILADELPHIA, PA — Jason Mattis, 51, of Philadelphia, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for using a destructive device, akin to a Molotov cocktail, to set fire to a Northeast Philadelphia home. The sentence, handed down on Wednesday, April 16, by U.S. District Court Judge Gerald J. Pappert, follows Mattis’s conviction for possessing an unregistered destructive device.
The incident occurred on July 1, 2022, when Mattis threw the incendiary device onto the porch of a residence in the Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia. The resulting fire damaged the property, sidewalk, and street. At the time, the residents were inside the home but managed to escape without injury. Forensic analysis confirmed the device used by Mattis qualified as an incendiary bomb under federal law.
Mattis, who has a criminal history including an attempted murder conviction, was on state parole at the time of the arson.
“It’s tough to understate the seriousness of a crime like this, which put the victims, their home, and their neighborhood at risk,” said U.S. Attorney David Metcalf. “This sentence keeps him behind bars for years, and the public is safer for it.”
ATF Special Agent in Charge Eric DeGree noted, “It is remarkable that this family was able to escape with their lives…Arson is a serious, dangerous and often deadly crime.”
Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Jeffrey W. Thompson and Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel lauded the cooperation between local and federal agencies in the investigation, which was conducted by the ATF’s Arson and Explosives Task Force, the Philadelphia Fire Department, and Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Eckert.
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