The man in April 2016 as 14 people slept inside was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison.
, 28, was convicted by a Jefferson County jury in February of 18 counts of arson. Prosecutors say many of his victims were in court as the penalty was handed down Wednesday, speaking about how the case impacted them.
Nine people inside the home, a duplex, were children under age 18.
Magana ignited the blaze, prosecutors say, after his girlfriend of about a year broke up with him. He had texted the woman, threatening to set her car ablaze before starting the fire.
At about 3:30 a.m. April 12, West Metro Fire Protection District firefighters and Lakewood Police were called to the duplex at 5615 W. Fifth Ave., where two cars and the home were engulfed in flames.
The car of Magana’s former girlfriend had been set on fire, with gasoline used as an accelerant, prosecutors said. Another car also caught fire. Car tires exploded, waking residents, including the former girlfriend.
The residents of the duplex escaped unharmed just before flames spread. Magana was arrested in Aurora that day.
The woman told investigators Magana previously had used fire during their confrontations, once burning paper currency in front of her during an argument, an arrest affidavit said.
Magana admitted to investigators that he had been at the duplex before the blaze broke out but denied setting it, according to police.
