United Group Insurance

Iowa teen gets probation for torching iconic covered bridge

News

June 2nd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa teen has been given a suspended prison sentence and probation for torching a famed covered bridge in Madison County, Iowa, that featured on the cover of the novel “The Bridges of Madison County.”

Television station KCCI reports that 18-year-old Alexander Hoff was sentenced Friday, getting five years’ probation and a suspended 10-year prison sentence. He had pleaded guilty in March to second-degree arson and first-degree criminal mischief.

Hoff was among three people who set fire to the bridge in April 2017. The two others — Joel Davis and Alivia Bergmann — were sentenced to five years’ probation. The bridge near Winterset also was featured in the 1995 movie adaptation of “The Bridges of Madison County.”