An East Longmeadow man was sentenced in federal court in Springfield for placing a lit firebomb at the entrance of a Longmeadow senior healthcare facility on April 2, 2020, and for lying to the FBI about his whereabouts on that day. John Rathbun, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to five years in prison and three years of supervised release. As part of his supervised release, Judge Mastroianni ordered that Rathbun not enter the campus of the Longmeadow facility for any reason. On the morning of April 2, 2020, Rathbun assembled, placed, and lit a homemade firebomb at the driveway entrance of Jewish Geriatric Services Lifecare, Inc., a Jewish nursing home complex in Longmeadow. The device consisted of a five-gallon Scepter fuel canister filled with gasoline and a partially charred wick comprised of pages from a Christian religious pamphlet. Forensic analysis identified Rathbun’s DNA on the canister and pamphlet. On April 15, 2020, Rathbun falsely stated to a federal agent that he was at home on April 2, that he was not familiar with the location on Converse Street where the device was placed and that he had not possessed or even seen the fuel canister.
