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"Midlothian man convicted in $2.1 million Robious Middle fire"

By: Mark Bowes | Richmond Times Dispatch
Published: February 16, 2012

A Midlothian man was convicted Thursday of breaking into Robious Middle School last summer while in a drug-and-alcohol induced fog and setting a fire that caused more than $2 million in damage.

Robert W. Altizer, 22, whose attorney said Altizer "blacked out" during his destructive rampage, pleaded guilty in Chesterfield County Circuit Court to arson and burglary charges stemming from the July 10 fire. A felony vandalism charge was dropped by prosecutors at a November preliminary hearing.

Judge Harold W. Burgess Jr. accepted Altizer's pleas and set sentencing for May 31. Altizer could be sentenced to up to 60 years in prison. But sentencing guidelines for Altizer, who has no previous felony convictions, call for a minimum term of eight months and a maximum of two years.

Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney L. Dennis Collins said the school division's risk management office calculated total damage to the school and its contents at $2,151,881. But defense attorney John Rockecharlie challenged that figure and will be allowed to review the damage report before the court decides on a final restitution amount.

According to a summary of evidence by Lt. Joseph Harvey of the Chesterfield Fire Marshal's Office, Altizer broke into the school about 5 a.m. through a window in the school's cafeteria. He apparently pulled a garden hose just outside the window into the building and turned on the water, causing minor flooding in the cafeteria.

Footage from surveillance cameras inside the school showed Altizer walking around inside and at one point entering a classroom. Smoke can be seen coming from the room after he left, and he eventually returned and threw what appeared to be water from a bucket into the classroom, as if to douse a fire.

He then tried to leave the school but had difficulty getting out, so he used a chair to smash the glass in a door. He left but then returned a short time later and can be seen using a cigarette lighter to ignite a box of textbooks in a hallway near the cafeteria. Altizer then wandered off.

Harvey estimated that Altizer was inside the school for about 1½ hours.

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Investigators received tips about Altizer's identity soon after authorities released school surveillance photos of the intruder to the news media. In the days before his arrest, Altizer altered his appearance by cutting his hair and sent text messages to a close friend to set up his alibi, Harvey testified.

Altizer also communicated with his girlfriend, who along with Altizer's friend advised him to get rid of the clothing and a hat he was wearing when he set the fire. Altizer's friend took the clothing to West Virginia, where he attended college, and initially told investigators that Altizer was with him at the time of the fire, Harvey said.

The friend had second thoughts and eventually called investigators to admit that Altizer's alibi was fictitious, Harvey testified. Investigators charged Altizer's friend and girlfriend with being accessories after the fact and obstruction of justice, but the charges were eventually withdrawn after they cooperated with police.

Robious Middle was undergoing extensive renovation and expansion at the time of the fire, and the blaze caused extensive damage to the one classroom and the hallway. Ceiling tiles in the hallway had been removed during the renovation project, which caused smoke from the fire to spread throughout the building and infiltrate classrooms.

Rockecharlie told the court that Altizer, who worked as a waiter, has a history of mental-health and neurological issues and had "self-medicated himself" on the morning of the fire by consuming alcohol, marijuana and Xanax.

The attorney said Altizer was walking home from a party when he stopped by Robious Middle and essentially "blacked out" while setting the fires and vandalizing the school.

Rockecharlie said for those who know Altizer, his criminal behavior last summer was "completely out of character" and "no one can understand why he did what he did," including Altizer.