Business owner sentenced to 30 years in arson, insurance fraud scheme

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A Douglas County man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison in a scheme to burn his own business in 2014, authorities said Tuesday.

Christopher Hedgecock, 35, also was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution, according to the Georgia Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner.

A firefighter was injured while battling the blaze at Town and Country Fabrics & Upholstery on Aug. 5, 2014.

In May, a jury found Hedgecock guilty of arson and insurance fraud. He was sentenced Monday.

"Mr. Hedgecock showed no remorse for his crime, nor any appreciation of the danger he placed the firefighters in," Brett Adams, the Assistant District Attorney who tried the case, said in a news release. "He is an unrepentant criminal, and Douglas County is safer with him in prison."

An employee, Derek Rosa, also was arrested and pleaded guilty to an arson charge last year, authorities said.