Rockey Garvey, 22, a former NIU student, was convicted of arson and sentenced to a five-year prison sentence Monday.

Garvey, along with Joseph Avery, 25, was charged with residential and aggravated arson after a Dec. 6, 2000, fire to a home on Second Street.

Avery received a five-year sentence when he was charged for the same crime nearly one year before Garvey was sentenced.

Assistant State’s Attorney Clint Hull amended the earlier charge of residential arson to arson, a more serious felony.

DeKalb County Circuit Judge Douglas Engel said that probation would have reduced the seriousness of the incident.

At the time of his arrest, Garvey was advised that probation was possible, but Hull later determined that probation was not appropriate.

Police say Garvey threw weights through a window of the residence and Avery threw in a cooler containing a lit gasoline-soaked towel. Garvey admitted to being drunk the night he set the fire.

Patricia Bragg and her son Richard were in the home at the time of the fire. Richard Bragg suffered second-degree burns, but had no permanent scarring, Hull said. Patricia “suffered from a debilitating joint condition,” making it difficult for her to escape from her home, he added.

One of Garvey’s attorneys, Terry Ekl requested that he receive probation.

“The sentence adequately reflects the seriousness of the charge,” State’s Attorney Ron Matekaitis said.

Both Garvey and Avery were transported to the Illinois Department of Corrections.