Schenectady

Convicted arsonist Lawrence Ahrens Jr. apparently wanted to make a statement when he strolled into court with a white short-sleeve T-shirt with "Snitches Get Stitches" splashed across the back in bold letters.

He looked incredulous when, just before taking a break at Thursday's sentencing, the judge ordered him to remove the shirt, which had a red stop sign above the word "Snitching" on the front.

Yet the 33-year-old Rotterdam man, who gave the shirt to a male friend to wear in court, remained silent when Visiting Schenectady County Judge Michael Coccoma asked him if he wanted to address the court before sentencing for firebombing the home and vehicle of his former girlfriend's new boyfriend last year in Rotterdam.

Ahrens, who was represented by attorney Cheryl Coleman, replied: "I have nothing to say, your honor."

The judge imposed a sentence of 15 years behind bars on the second-degree arson and first-degree criminal possession of a weapon counts to which Ahrens pleaded guilty in August. The penalty also includes a five-year stay-away order of protection that will take effect when Ahrens is released from prison. The sentence also requires him and his three accomplices to share in making $2,671 in restitution to the two victims.

The man whom Ahrens targeted was in court Thursday but did not speak.

Police and prosecutors said Ahrens recruited two men and a woman and paid one of them more than $100 on several occasions to throw explosive devices made of compressed flash powder and a fuse at the new boyfriend's home on East Claremont Avenue in Rotterdam. The victim's home was targeted five times, starting when home siding was damaged with a screwdriver.

The defendants were accused of blowing up the windshield on the man's truck and throwing explosive devices at the home on three separate occasions in March 2012. The victim, a man in his 40s, moved out after the first incident.

Ahrens was upset that the man was dating Ahrens' former girlfriend.

Ahrens and two of his three recruits were arrested last year after a two-month investigation.

Authorities had the house under surveillance for three weeks before the arrests were made.

Coccoma scolded Ahrens, saying, "Your actions have had an impact on at least two other individuals ... and that's something you should keep in mind as you serve out your sentence. I'm sure being in state prison is not the role model you would like your children to remember you by."

He reminded the defendant that his crimes imperiled the lives of police and emergency responders.

"These are not victimless crimes, not just property damage crimes," the judge said.

Afterward, Assistant District Attorney John Healy surmised that the T-shirt may have been Ahrens' way of lashing out at the judicial system as a "white guy with no criminal history" before this trying to make a name for himself before being locked up, or the message may have been directed at his three co-defendants, all of whom are awaiting sentencing but had agreed to testify against Ahrens as part of their plea deals. They are Amy Brzoza, 32; her 33-year-old boyfriend, Michael Chambers; and Michael Garry, 31.

The criminal case also ensnared a veteran Schenectady detective who was disciplined for improperly running a license plate check as a favor for a friend, who then unbeknownst to the officer, passed that information to Ahrens so he could then home in on his target.

pnelson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5347 • @apaulnelson