Cain sentenced in 2011 burglary and firehouse arson

A tearful scene unfolded Wednesday during the October session of Ozark County Law Day as Jonathan David Cain was sentenced by Circuit Judge John Moody in connection with the April 2011 burglary of Butch and Ruby Winslow's home and the arson of the Timber Knob Volunteer Fire Department.

Cain was sentenced to four years in prison on a class D felony of conspiracy-theft/stealing, 10 years on the class B felony of first-degree burglary, seven years on the class C felony of second-degree burglary and seven years on the class C felony of second-degree arson. Both Ruby and Butch Winslow took the stand, as well as Cain himself and mitigation specialist Sherry Rawson, a defense representative assigned to investigate Cain's background.

Rawson said Cain had had a hard life, enduring the death of his father, who had committed suicide. A Navy veteran, Cain suffered with PTSD related to violent combat experiences. He suffered severe flashbacks but had gotten into therapy and seemed to get his life under control, even becoming engaged to be married. But after his fiancee also committed suicide, he reverted to a distressed state, which eventually led to burglary and arson.

Cain pleaded guilty to the charges stemming from the April 23, 2011, incident. According to prosecuting attorney Tom Cline's affidavit cited in a June 1, 2011, Ozark County Times article, Cain and an accomplice set fire to the Timber Knob firehouse and then reported the fire to the Ozark County Sheriff's Department. Ruby Winslow, Timber Knob VFD's fire chief, left the house to respond to the fire but couldn't reach the firehouse due to high water in the creek.

When she returned home, she surprised the intruders, who were in the process of robbing her home. The thieves fled before Ruby was able to identify them, but they left behind a handgun that the Ozark County Sheriff's Department later traced back to Cain.

Read the full story in next week's Times.

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