Morris Man Deemed Insane, Not Guilty, For Trying to Burn Down Masonic Lodge

A man who told a judge he was a king and was attempting to burn down a building because its owners were trying to kill him was found not guilty by reason of insanity this week.

According to nj.com, John Mowbray, 53, of Morris Township, will be placed in full-time psychiatric care after a judge ruled he was insane while trying to burn down the Masonic Lodge in Morristown in February 2013.

Mowbray broke into the Lodge on Feb. 7 that year and damaged a grandfather clock, the report said. The following day, he broke in again, this time with containers of gasoline in an attempt to burn the building down as retribution for the Masons, as he believed, killing his grandfather, the report said.

Mowbray will spend the next 30 days in Ann Klein Psychiatric Center but his attorney is asking he be placed full-time in the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Parsippany to be closer to family, the report said.