Woman Sentenced For Fort Benning Fire

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) - A former Fort Benning civilian employee has been sentenced to seven years in prison for setting a fire that burned down the west Georgia Army post’s historic Judge Advocate General’s headquarters.

The woman, 31-year-old Shawana Topekia Pierce, pleaded guilty to arson charges in July. The fire caused almost $10 million in damage.

The mandatory minimum sentence in the case was five years. Judge Clay Land added an additional two years, which the government had requested. Land also ordered Pierce to pay $7.5 million in restitution.

Pierce had worked at the JAG office before being dismissed during an investigation into another matter. Her attorney, B. Miles Hannan of Valdosta, says she was upset because her fellow employees would not support her in an investigation into the theft of office supplies.