Philadelphia – Jason Mattis, 51, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for setting a fire at a Northeast Philadelphia home in 2022 using a destructive device. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania stated that Mattis was convicted in September 2024 on charges of possessing an unregistered destructive device, similar to a Molotov cocktail, which he threw onto the porch of a residence in the Tacony section.
On Thursday, United States District Court Judge Gerald J. Pappert sentenced Mattis for committing arson on July 1, 2022, while on state parole for attempted murder. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed that Mattis used an incendiary bomb, classified as such under federal law. U.S. Attorney David Metcalf stated, “It’s tough to understate the seriousness of a crime like this, which put the victims, their home, and their neighborhood at risk,” emphasizing Mattis’s criminal history and the public safety ensured by his incarceration, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Eric DeGree acknowledged the survival of a targeted family and the conviction of Mattis, following efforts by the Philadelphia Police, ATF’s Arson and Explosives Task Force, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Eckert. Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Jeffrey W. Thompson said, "This type of skilled investigative work and interagency cooperation makes our city safer." Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel emphasized, "Violent acts like these endanger not just the intended target, but entire communities," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
