Man Gets Prison Time For Hotel Arson

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Colorado man has been sent to prison for setting fire to a hotel room in the Nebraska capital of Lincoln.

Online court records show 34-year-old Joshua Berney, of Thornton, was sentenced Wednesday to four to eight years. He'd pleaded no contest to felony arson after prosecutors dropped a charge of criminal mischief.

Authorities say he reported the blaze from his room at the Holiday Inn Express just before 4 a.m. on April 6 last year. Fire sprinklers helped contain the flames to just his room on the second floor, but smoke escaped into hallways.

Thirty-five hotel guests were evacuated during the fire. Berney was taken to a hospital to be checked for smoke inhalation.

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