Arlington Man Who Lit Fire Next To Homeless Men Sentenced

ARLINGTON, MA — An Arlington man was sentenced to a little more than a year in prison for starting a fire near an alcove where two homeless men were sleeping, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

At the conclusion of a jury-waived trial yesterday, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Peter Lauriat found Matthew Cody,31, guilty of two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon but acquitted him of arson and attempted murder. Prosecutors had initially indicted Cody for arson and attempted murder, as well but the judge acquitted Cody of those charges.

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The judge sentenced Cody to 18 to 20 months in state prison followed by three years of probation, during which time Cody must undergo a mental health evaluation and drug and alcohol treatment. Assistant District Attorney David McGowan, the DA’s arson point prosecutor, had requested a term of up to three years in prison.

During the course of the one-day trial, McGowan introduced evidence and testimony to prove that Cody was leaving his job at a Boston restaurant at approximately 11 p.m. on the night of Oct. 8, 2015, when he passed a West Street building where two men were sleeping inside the alcove. A security camera captured Cody as he retrieved a hardcover book from a nearby recycling bin and lit it on fire next to the slumbering men, prosecutors said. He then walked to a nearby location within sight of the alcove and watched as the flames went out.

Cody can then be seen in security camera images as he set fire to the book a second time watching it catch, pull his hood up, and then leaving the area.

This time, the fire spread to the building’s entry and to the cardboard on which the men were sleeping, prosecutors said. An employee at a nearby youth services agency smelled smoke and went outside to investigate. The good Samaritan saw the fire, roused the two sleeping men, and tried to extinguish the spreading blaze with a trash barrel he filled with water, prosecutors said.

In the hours and days that followed, Boston Police detectives and firefighters of the Fire Investigation Unit retrieved surveillance footage from cameras in the area, prosecutors said at the time of Cody's arraignment.

The footage suggested that the arsonist had come from the area of the restaurant at which Cody worked, prosecutors said. Investigators obtained a list of employees on duty that night and, from that list, identified Cody as a potential suspect, prosecutors said.

He was positively identified by coworkers who viewed images of the suspected arsonist. Members of Conley’s Forensic Audio/Video Image Analysis Unit “stitched” together video footage from several sources to show Cody’s presence at and around the scene, up to and including his repeated efforts to set the fire.

Investigators later approached Cody on West Street and observed him to be wearing clothing and a backpack similar to those visible in the surveillance images of the arsonist, prosecutors said.

Cody was arrested by Boston Police at the Boston Municipal Court, where he was attending a court date on an unrelated case.

Prosecutors said the Boston Fire Department estimated the cost of the fire damage at $18,000.

“Crimes like this defy explanation,” Conley said. “The victims did nothing to provoke it and they were particularly vulnerable as they slept on the street. That fact resonated for all of us, and I’m proud of our trial team for pursuing justice on their behalf. If the defendant thought no one would care about two homeless men, he was mistaken. Prosecutors, victim advocates, police detectives, firefighters, and civilian witnesses alike all stood up and spoke out for them.”

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Booking photo courtesy of the DA.