An East Palo Alto man who set fire to a San Mateo house that killed an elderly grandmother has received 40 years to life in prison for his crimes, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office said.
Fifita Ponifasion Tau, 28, allegedly set fire to a home on South Humboldt Street while targeting the West Side Tonga gang members. The DA’s Office said he blamed them for violence against family members in the Eastside Shoreview Crips.
Tau set the fire because he believed the gang members lived there, but it was actually the home of their 86-year-old grandmother, who died, the DA’s Office said. The incident occurred Feb. 19, 2019.
Tau pleaded no contest to the arson murder charges Feb. 15 and was sentenced April 12.
He will be eligible for parole hearings after 25 years and must pay a $10,000 restitution fine. The grandmother’s son and daughter sent an email to the DA’s Office read to the court at sentencing. It stated they forgave Tau and said they wanted him to have a life after prison.
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