Maximum sentence in deadly Lawrence arson

In a hushed courtroom packed with court officers, a Nassau County judge Friday sentenced a volunteer firefighter convicted of setting a horrific blaze that killed four people to serve the maximum: 25 years to life in prison.

Before he was sentenced, Caleb Lacey spoke a few quiet words, asserting his innocence.

"I feel horrible for the lives that were lost," Lacey, 20, of Lawrence, said in a barely audible voice. "However, I did not commit this crime."

Judge Jerald Carter, in pronouncing the sentence, said he does not think that Lacey is a monster. Nor, he said, does he think Lacey is innocent of causing the Feb. 19, 2009, fire in a two-story apartment building near his own home.

Instead, he said Lacey made a "juvenile" choice to set a fire that he could not stop. And that choice, he said, had hideous consequences for which Lacey must pay.

"I've seen the crimes here. I've seen the mother and daughter in the kitchen with the water still running in the sink," Carter said, referring to a video played during Lacey's trial that showed the bodies of Morena Vanegas, 46; her stepson, Saul Preza, 19; and her daughters, Andrea, 10, and Susanna, 9. Edit Vanegas, Morena Vanegas' husband, and their two young sons escaped by jumping from a window.

"You always wanted to be a firefighter. You always wanted to help people," the judge told Lacey. "But you betrayed your oath."

Morena Vanegas' sister, America Chavez, was among those who spoke before Lacey was sentenced. The relatives described a loving mother who no longer is there for her two young sons, and the three children killed in the fire who had big plans for their futures.

"You knew they were sleeping when you lit that fire," Chavez said, addressing Lacey directly. He did not look at her.

Prosecutor Michael Canty contended throughout the trial that Lacey had set the fire so he could act as a hero in saving the residents.

After the sentencing, District Attorney Kathleen Rice made a brief appearance, calling it a "day of reckoning."

Friday was Lacey's first appearance in court since his conviction Feb. 19, when he lunged toward the gallery after the verdict and was subdued by about a dozen court officers.

Lacey's father, the Rev. Richard Lacey, said he will stand by his son.

"There has been a tragedy and loss of lives," he said outside court. "And we mourn people we knew. We want the true criminal to be caught and pay for this crime."

Edit Vanegas - who sobbed openly through most of the trial and ran from the courtroom after the verdict, rolling on the courthouse floor with grief - did not speak in court. He made his remarks on a videotape that was shown in court and in a letter he wrote to the judge, which was read aloud.

"I wish I could die," the father said on the videotape. "I would like to be with them, but I cannot."

Carter told Vanegas that he cannot and must not give up on life.

"You say you lost everything. You didn't," Carter said. "You still have two children depending on you. You will set the tone for how your family deals with this tragedy."

With Keith Herbert